Corrupted
by Tammy Two Paws
Summary: For too long have they lived in this false peace of theirs. For too long have they lived without knowing the flames of hell. We will show them the might of hell, and this time, neither humans nor angels shall stop us. The next primordial evil shall rise.
1. Down with the sickness

**AN: Welcome everyone, to my new story! Yes, I know; another freaking story! Not my fault I am the biggest scatter-brain in the world... This story came to me in a dream, and like a dream, the best parts was instantly forgotten the moment I awoke, but I quickly wrote down everything I could remember. I am unsure though if this is a story I should actually pursue, so please tell me if you want me to continue this story.**

**Will Naruto be evil? Yes, kinda, though I guess dark will be more correct, though his good deeds will be far and few between, if not non-existant. Will he be good and stay in Konoha? Tsk Tsk, I won't tell. Will there be sex-scenes and pairings? There will be a pairing, though no sex will be written by me. I will not say who the chosen woman/women might be. Yes, it might be a threesome. Now, that is all I will spoil for you, sooooo...**

**LET'S START!**

*_Let me see… Nope, my name is STILL not Kishimoto, nor am I the CEO of Blizzard… So yeah, I don't own those two franchises, nor do I own any other franchise I might use here*_

_"…"_ Is someone talking.

'…' Is someone thinking.

_Italics and * are visions, flashbacks and someone reading._

**Bold is someone/something demonic or ethereal talking or thinking.**

**~Sorrow~**

He felt sick.

For once in his life, Naruto felt genuinely sick. As far as he could remember, he had never had a cold, fever, flu, or any other disease. He had always been healthy and perky despite his diet of ramen. He wished he was a bit taller though, but one can't always have the best of both worlds.

He was shaking, his whole body siphoned for his abundance of energy. He felt cold, but for some reason, he was still sweating, and he felt simply… wrong.

For basically the whole day, he had been lieing in his bed, staring out the window. It might be his headache that made him somewhat delusional, but there seemed to be a… A black cloud, an evil presence that approached, just at the edge of the horizon.

He wasn't hungry at all, but he knew he needed nutrients, but still...

Even the ramen at Ichiraku didn't make him feel any better

He just couldn't eat it with the same gusto as before. He sat there, his head in one of his hands, and the other slowly leading the noodles to his mouth. Yet, despite the wonderful smell, he tasted nothing. He could just as well have eaten a rock; it would have given him a better taste.

Ayame and Teuchi were worried to. They had known Naruto for almost his whole life, and there were only a few times Naruto didn't practically devour his ramen, and that was when Naruto became depressed, but the boy didn't look depressed...

Ayame put a hand on his shoulder, having gone around the counter to make it easier.

"Naruto, are you ok? Is something bothering you?" She asked, noticing his paler face.

Naruto mustered a weak smile to her, a bit disturbed he didn't feel calmed by her concern, or the fact he felt, just for an extremely short moment, the urge to rip her arm off. An image flashed before his eyes, something he had seen in a crime report that was on the Hokage's desk once. A pack of rabid dogs had mutilated a body beyond recognition. At the time, he was a bit shocked that normal, run-of-the-mill dogs could cause such damage, but the moment Ayame touched him, he felt that the dogs attacked the wrong person.

Even then, why didn't he feel more disturbed? He loved Ayame and Teuchi like a family, right? He would never let anything harm them in any way, shape or form... yet, for a short glimpse, he hated them both.

"I'm fine Ayame, I'm just sick I think, and it's quite a shock to my system, seeing as I have never been sick before." He said, taking a bite of his ramen, a small grimace etching itself on his face at the empty taste.

Ayame still looked concerned, but knew Naruto wouldn't delve deeper in his own life. Past experiences had led to that. She gave him a quick hug, Naruto momentarily tensing as the urge came back, stronger than earlier, before calming down and leaning back towards her, a small, content smile stretching across his face, though Teuchi noticed that it didn't quite reach the boys now almost clouded blue eyes.

She let go of him, running her slender hand through his hair a bit before walking around the counter again. Teuchi though, who had been somewhat forgotten, noticed something peculiar about his favorite customer and pseudo-son.

"Naruto, have you bleached your hair or something?" He asked, puzzled. In fact, when he actually looked at the boy, he noticed that it seemed to fall more around the boy's head, like whatever anti-gravitational energy it once held had lost its grip somewhat.

Naruto looked at his hair which feel in front of his eyes, suddenly noticing that he forgot his goggles. He had needed them more often than before because of his somewhat lack-luster hair. It was actually a bit creepy, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"I don't really know. For some reason my hair has kinda been… Dying on me I guess. It's a bit annoying, it always goes in front of my eyes now." He sighed, running his free hand through his hair. He took another bite of his food, almost spitting it out again as it somehow tasted even worse than a few moments ago.

He pushed his half-eaten bowl of ramen away, a small grimace on his face.

"Thanks for the meal; I really don't have the appetite for some reason today." He went to get his wallet before Teuchi stopped him.

"Don't worry Naruto, it's on us today. Go home and get some rest, it looks like you need it. When Iruka comes over, we'll send him over to check you over, okay?" He said with a half-smile, care in his eyes.

Naruto smiled and nodded as he stood, sending a quick "Thanks" before he somewhat stumbled out of the stand.

He didn't go home though. Instead, he went up the Hokage Mountain and sat over the second's head, his chin in his hands as he looked down at the bustling village below. The mountain had always attracted him for some strange reason, perhaps it was the magnificent view over the village, or maybe it was the isolation, he could never tell.

It was fairly late, the sun about to disappear over the horizon in maybe an hour, the red rays bathing the village in a fiery shimmer. A morbid glee filled him as he imagined that the red light was the forest on fire as it slowly moved closer to the village, a catastrophal event that wiped away his terrible past. For just a quick moment it seemed like the forest actually was on fire, but as he closed his eyes for a moment, the flames dissipated, leaving behind the same, silent forest. That was probably for the best as he had always loved the forest surrounding Konoha.

He smiled again, enjoying the sight.

That was, before a vision veiled his eyes.

_*He saw the village burning, clouds covering the sky as the screams of the people rang through the air. That was not all; there was something else, the wails of something unnatural cut through the air, something not of this world, something horrifying. He saw the villagers get killed by shadowy creatures in several ways, butchering, burning, slicing, some even melted after being covered in some strange substance._

_But the worst part was not the fact that people died, but the fact that they rose again, their bodies moving around like they were marionettes, a puppet-master moving them with his strings. He saw known faces killing their loved ones, no matter who they were: Husbands, wives, children, friends and neighbors alike died by their loved ones hands._

_And at last echoed a voice, a laughter so… evil that it penetrated his heart like a thousand needles. Yet... It sounded so familiar, possibly because it was his own voice.*_

He gasped; sweat pouring down his face as his whole body shook. During the vision, he had fallen to his side, his body convulsing painfully. He could practically feel the heat of the pyre as it licked the structures which inhabitet his home.

He breathed hard for a while, slowly rolling over to his back, his eyes closed as he put an arm in front of them. It felt so… Real. He could feel the wind as it flowed around him, the smell of the smoke... And he could smell the coppery odor of the blood that slithered across the ground, he could feel the red life-giving liquid underneath his feet as it ran past him.

"Am I... Going crazy?" He gasped out, a small sliver of fear coursing through his body at the fact that he felt less disturbed than he should have been. Yet, deep inside of him, a small part was intrigued by this sudden phenomena.

"**Possibly..."** A voice whispered from within his mind, echoing the thoughts of that small intrigued part.

"**SHUT UP!"** He roared, his voice reaching further than one would believe as it echoed across the village, the ones who heard it thought it sounded more guttural, more bestial.

"Just... Just shut up." He whispered, panting. He had never felt so drained his entire life. He was not just tired physically, but mentally too.

"**Silly freshling. You asked, and I answered. Now, let us meet face to face, what do you say..."**

'What is happening to me?' His head span as he laid on the grassy mountaintop, an intense sense of vertigo overtaking him as he quickly threw himself to the side, hurling up the half-consumed and half-digested ramen he ate earlier.

Again he collapsed on his back as he gasped, the edges of his vision blackening as whatever energy he had left vanished into thin air. He was unsure if he was supposed to fell elated or despaired that he finally succumbed to the darkness, for just a moment later, he was in an entirely different place.

**~Sorrow~**

For the duration of a week, Naruto had become progressively worse, his strength draining, and his happy demeanor had rapidly changed into a hollow, almost empty persona. In fact, some people would go as far as to call it sorrowful, and a few who saw his expression actually found themselves saddening.

At the start, Naruto believed that he was simply exhausted, that he had pushed himself too hard in his training, which was plausible since the training log he used was surprisingly demolished after his last bout with it. He felt initially happy at his incredibly fast progress, though he simply deluded himself into thinking it was normal.

So for three days he decided to rest after the academy, taking quick trips to Ichiraku before going to bed much earlier than normal. Even his somewhat manic drive towards pranking had all but vaporised into thin air, which was quickly noticed by the villagers as for each day that passed, the warier they became for a mega-prank.

At the fourth day, his condition began to deteriorate rapidly, and on the fifth day is when the villagers took notice of their pariah's declining health.

As the sickly pale boy stumbled down the road towards his house, the civilians ignorant and scornful looks morphed into concerned, and in some cases, fearful gazes. Was this a sign that the seal was breaking? Had their constant hatred finally took its toll on the boy? Naruto, at the time, did not care about their musings as he was suffering from a pounding migraine.

The next three days he barely ate, and his bed was constantly occupied, and every time food entered his mouth he had to keep himself from hurling it up again. Though nothing seemed to help the boy, nothing to change his condition...

Until today that is.

It is an interesting feeling, to one moment faint because of an extreme case of exhaustion and nausea, the notion of death swimming through your mind, for only to wake up moments later, feeling better than ever before.

As the boy came to, he drew in greedy gulps of air, his eyes wide open while idly noticing the dark, cracked ceiling that loomed above. It didn't take long for him to calm his racing heart, and as he sat up, he couldn't help but wonder one simple thing.

"Where the fuck am I?"

As he stood up, a wry grin spread across his face as he noticed that he felt absolutely fantastic, possibly better than before whatever illness befell him. He glanced around, noticing the puddles strewn around on the cracked and uneven stone floor. He heard water drip down into a cavern below, a soft growl escaping from underneath him, something which peaked his interest at the possible size of the prison-like area he was currently trapped in.

A random pebble hitting the floor drew his gaze towards the cracked stone walls. The walls was made out of a smooth, black-ish stone-like mineral, and the cracks that lined along them seemed to go deeper than one might possibly believe.

The half-crumbled walls, mixed in with a ceiling that almost constantly leaked water while random pebbles loosened from it, created a feeling that wherever he currently resided might collapse in on itself, trapping or even killing him in the progress.

"The villagers probably threw me down here." He sneered as his complex darkened slightly, nigh unnoticable cracks appearing in nooks and crannies.

As images of himself butchering random people assaulted his mind, he felt oddly compelled to make those fever-dreams a reality. He quickly shook that notion away though as he trecked down the rough, catacomb-like corridor, idly comparing it to the drier parts of the sewer-system underneath the village.

'This place looks way cooler though... Feels more welcoming, and it smells a lot better too.'

As he came to a fork in the road, he couldn't help but give a deadpan stare at two of the three paths that he could choose.

'Let me see... Random hole of doom, another random hole of doom, or ominous corridor that looks exactly like the one I just came from...' Obviously enough, he went down the path that didn't lead to certain death. As he did so, he didn't notice how the shadowy holes seemed to move slightly, nor the cracks that was created by his every step.

Perhaps he was ignoring it all though, as his eyes flicked over to a dissipating shadowy visage. He didn't flinch in surprise, nor did he reel back in fright. He simply raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity, cracking a small smile at the scurrying creature he just saw.

"So those imps are even here?"

Throughout the years, when his darker emotions surged forth, the most die-hard haters of his tended to die in gruesome, yet unexplained ways. The best analogy they could come up with was 'torn apart by a rabid animal, then blown apart by explosives.' No one noticed how Naruto seemed a lot happier than before at the times, nor did they notice the nods of gratitude he sent towards random, shadowed corners, and the toothy grins they flashed back.

_*He had met them for the first time when he was six. A man had chased him out of a shop before sending his dog at the boy. If not for the meat-stall close by which he used to distract the dog, then he might have been gravely injured by it._

_As he came home he huddled into a corner, and as thoughts about how he would get his revenge against the man ran through his young mind, one of the creatures arose in front of him. The two stared at each other for several long moments before the creature warily went forward, seeming to sniff the boy before giving a large toothy grin, a grin that the boy matched, the same dark intent shining from their eyes._

"_You will help me, right?" The creature gave a short nod. "You know the man right? I... I want him gone, I want him gone so he can't hurt me anymore... Can you do that?" Another toothy grin was his answer, but just a moment before the shadowy imp left, the boy called out after it._

"_Wait! What should I call you?" The imp cocked its head to the side, seeming to think._

"_I know!" The boy declared, walking closer to the shorter being. "Your eyes aren't all white, they have a bit of blue in them, they kinda remind me of days when the skies have some clouds in it... Sora... That's your name. What do you think?"_

_Another toothy grin appeared on its face, and a happy nod was given as it disappeared into the night._

_The next morning, news of the man's brutal demise was on the tounge of everyone within the village.*_

He had often wondered what they are and where they come from, but as long as they meant no ill will towards him, then he was not going to pry.

"Now then, do any of you lovelies know where we are?" For some strange reason or another, they liked to be called with endearing names, though who was Naruto to complain about that? He felt much more comfortable calling them his lovelies than his underlings or slaves.

He saw a few of the imps dart back and forth along the walls, seemingly ignoring him until one of them rose up from the floor.

Two feet tall and lanky, long zig-zaggy ears, an unseen mouth unless they gave you a toothy grin, large, white orbs that represented the eyes, and claws at the end of their hands. Too many, this would be at least unnerving, but Naruto only gave a fond grin to his little avengers. The strangest part was that Naruto actually saw the difference between each of them, giving his favorites their own names, and this one was probably Naruto's absolute favorite. Its eyes had just the slightest shimmer of blue in it's eyes, the same blue that the skies above has, so he named it appropriately.

"Great to see you Sora, I was pretty happy when I found out you guys was here with me. So," He started, clapping his hands together, holding back a snicker as the Shadowling saluted him. "Do you have any idea about where I am or where I am heading?"

The Shadowling, Sora, cocked its head to the side, as if listening to something, and Naruto could swear that he heard just the slightest sound, though it sounded just like a snake's slithering tounge. A few seconds later, it shook its head in a negative manner.

"Nothing, eh? It's okay... What about the exit, do you know where that is? If no, do you possibly know if there are anyone else down here?" Again it cocked its head, though this time the snake-like whisper was louder, sounding more agitated. After a moment, the Shadowling jerked too before taking off down the dark catacombs, Naruto hot on it's tail.

As they ran down the corridor, Sora on all four, barred doors with a small viewing slot in each of them began to appear beside the two of them. At the start, Naruto ignored them, but a voice he never thought he would ever hear again made him stop cold, a shiver running down his spine. Sora, noticing Naruto's gaze on one of the doors to the blonde's left, walked over to it before sitting beside it, as if waiting for its master to open the door.

As Naruto slowly walked up to the door, he glimpsed through the small slot in the door, a familiar scene was playing over and over again within the door, and Naruto idly noted that it was all seen from a first-person perspective. To be specific, his perspective.

_*It was a bit over four years ago, one of the few rainy days that occurred that fall season, and quite possibly the most frightening, yet eye-opening days of his life. He was a bit short for money, so he had decided to try his luck on fishing in the Naka river, a river that flowed behind the Uchiha compound. He had been at it for about an hour and he had decided to try his luck in another spot before something unforeseen happened._

_As Naruto moved to try and find a better fishing-spot, he came over two Uchihas in a fight, though one of them was clearly winning, as the other one had already lost an eye. It was obvious that they both were Uchihas since they both had the Sharingan. It did not take long before the obvious defender lost a leg before falling beside the river, and the attacker took the chance and pounced on the fallen man._

_As the defenders head was pushed under the water-surface, it took at maximum two minutes before his flailings stopped. The attacker checked the man's pulse before declaring him dead, pushing him into the river, watching his now dead family member float down the river, which is when his eyes fell on the frightened seven-almost-eight years old boy. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognised the man, having met him once before._

_Itachi Uchiha, the Uchiha heir, and the prodigy of his generation. He was also the man who made Naruto question the Hokage for the first time in his life. Of course, he never went out with his slight trepidation towards the old man, but he always took everything he said with a major helping of salt._

_Itachi stopped barely five feet away, his coal-black eyes peering into Naruto's terrified, yet intrigued blue eyes. If not for his ANBU training, he would have raised an eyebrow at Naruto's questioning gaze._

"_Why did you kill him? I saw that you didn't want to kill him, you looked sad as you did it, so why?" Itachi would have smiled if not for the severity of the situation._

"_That is quite perceptive of you little Uzumaki... In this world, there are three paths: The easy path, the hard path, and the correct path. One will destroy everything, one will destroy you, and one will destroy everything you love. Right now, I walked the hard path, and soon, I will walk down the correct path, yet depending on others perspective, it might seem as the wrong path. That path does not exist, as that path is full of opinion, while the correct path is just full of facts. Hard, heartbreaking facts, but facts nonetheless."_

"_What do you mean?"_

_The Uchiha heir looked into the quizical eyes of the surprisingly bright child, mulling in his head how to formulate his answer._

"_To do what is correct for the majority, one has to sometimes sacrifice the minority. If I do not walk the correct path, the majority will suffer much more than it has to because of the minority, therefore, I will save the majority by... Silencing the minority."_

_The vibrant blue eyes cleared in slight understanding before narrowing in even more questions, but before that happened, Itachi walked past him, his last words echoing despite the heavy rain._

"_I believe I can trust you to not tell anyone about what I have said this rainy day, am I correct Mr. Uzumaki?"*_

Not even a week later, the entirety of the Uchiha clan, with the exception of one Sasuke Uchiha was annihilated by the Uchiha heir. Most of the village was saddened by the loss, and basically everyone was shocked except for a selected few. Naruto was one of them, as when it happened, Itachi's words echoed in his head, suddenly making much more sense.

"T-This is..." Naruto stuttered as he stumbled away from the door, Sora steadying him as Naruto stared wary at the rest of the doors.

"If all of these are my memories, does that mean that we are inside my head? But..." He turned towards the Shadowling that still held onto the much taller boy. "Does this mean that you are all just an illusion? Are you all just a figment of my imagination?" The Shadowling cocked its head to the side for a moment before slightly scratching Naruto's hand, earning a slight twitch from the boy at the minimal pain he felt.

"Okay, maybe not." He mumbled, suddenly noticing something odd. The doors on the left side was much more spread apart, and far less numerous, while those on the right side basically struggled with finding enough room to fit. That, and as he glimpsed through one of the slots, scenes that he had never been a witness to played over and over again.

"Wait a second... Sora, those doors on the right side, those aren't my memories, are they? If they're not mine... Oh god." Once again he felt dizzy, and right before he fell backwards, another shadowling appeared behind Naruto, crawling on all four as Naruto fell back on it, acting as a chair for the almost hyperventilating boy. While this happened, the cracks along the floor, walls and ceiling spread rapidly, a gush of water falling from the ceiling before the fluid disappeared down the cracks in the floor.

"I-I-I'm n-not..." He couldn't even talk correctly, the severity of his revelation basically destroying whatever cognitive functions the boy once had, freaking out Sora, as he could not handle seeing his master like this. In a burst of activity, he jumped on Naruto before grabbing the boys shoulders, shaking the boy violently, silently hoping that Naruto would come back to his senses. Seeing that it did not work, he did the only thing left that he could think about. He balled one of his clawed hands and punched Naruto in the face with as much power that it could muster, sending the boy sprawling on the severily cracked floor, a dazed expression on his face.

Sora slowly crawled along his master's body before sitting on his chest, distressed white eyes staring down towards dulled blue eyes. Naruto slowly looked into the white eyes of his, strangely enough, best friend before averting his gaze, looking down the hallway that probably led further into his mind.

"I'm not alone..."

Sora only stared concerned at his master. He had no idea how to comfort someone, seeing as he was a being made of the darkness in ones heart. This boy had so much darkness in his own heart that he had to spawn Shadowlings like Sora to not be overtaken by the darkness within himself. He felt fright, sorrow and despair for his master, yet he knew about no way to lessen the distress that his master was in.

He was useless.

Ever so slowly, the blonde sat up again, his blue eyes once again snapping back towards the white eyes of his favorite Shadowling. He stared into the large spheres, scrutinizing them for several seconds before slowly, a small, wary smile appeared on the boy's face, his hands holding the Shadowlings large, round head.

"I can trust you guys, right? If whatever inside of me tries to attack me, you will help me fend it off, correct?"

Without hesistation it nodded, earning a grateful pat on the head from Naruto as the dark being jumped off him as he stood. If one were to gaze closely at him, one could see that his impassive face was filled with anger, and just the tiniest hint of sorrow. At least now he understood what that complex seal on his gut was for, and now he understood that the Hokage had lied to him all along when he asked about the villagers apparent hatred towards him. What else had that man lied about?

As the duo continued down the corridor, Naruto's demeanor changed, slowly progressing from impassive to almost heartbroken, the lies from his so-called grandfather, the villagers hatred, and his own peers ridicule of him constantly playing over and over, and Sora walked beside him, gazing at the floor, knowing that no matter what that he was currently useless, and that his master would change by the end of this.

That did not matter though, him and the entire Shadowling army that was created by this boy was eternally loyal to him. After all, he is their father, their creator, their master. He gave them life, and they would rather destroy themselves than even think about leaving or going against their master. Sora would ensure that, he would destroy every Shadowling that tried to go against his master, his god, his father. Oh yes, he grinned a toothy grin, he would ensure their absolute submission.

Sora grinned even wider as he looked at the walls, their cracks constantly widening and spreading, and the Shadowlings that was born from the darkest recesses in his master's mind. Sora has often wondered just how a child, no matter how hated and abused, could harbour so much ill intent inside of him. He had finally got his answer. There is something else within his master's mind, something dark and corrupt. It did not matter though. While the boy's darkness might spawn from this parasitic creature, it was the master himself that spawned him and his brethren. Sora's loyality was to Naruto and only Naruto.

Sora's grin evaporated when the two of them, along with the Shadowling army that was hidden in the shadows, entered a massive throne room. A red carpet, which might once have been impressive to watch, was almost gone now, only dirtied patches lieing now and again on the ground. Torches littered the walls, yet almost none of them was lit, and the ones that was threw out an eerie green, almost sickly light. One massive, rusted chandelier hung from the ceiling far above their heads, four candles lit, the rest either gone or long since burned out, though one candle seemed untouched. At the far end of the room sat a large throne, possibly the only part of the entire room that didn't look worn down from the march of time. The throne itself though did not garner their interest, but rather the individual that arose from it.

It was a woman, easily over six feet tall with red hair that progressed towards green the further back one looked, in a style that hung around her head, covering her face somewhat. The smile that was sighted between her locks was sinister, and looked out of place on her regal-looking face, as if she was more used to scowling. Her ears were long and pointy, her eyebrows thin and crooked, and her eyes glowed an unearthly, poisonous yellow. Her body was covered by a black cloak covered in dust, leaving only her pale, clawed hands visible underneath her neck.

Ever so slowly she walked down the steps from her throne, the soft sound of her feet made it apparent that she wore no shoes, her yellow eyes fixed on Naruto's blue ones the entire time. Something within screamed at him to move, to run, to never come back here again, yet another part of him was intrigued by this woman that seemed to transcend humanity, and another part of him, a tiny part, burrowed deep within his mind, knew that this woman would not hurt him.

The gap between them narrowed. twenty-five feet, twenty feet, fifteen feet. As the woman came within ten feet of the boy, a chain materialized itself around the woman's right ankle, the other end connected to her throne, stopping her advancement towards the boy.

She finally broke eye-contact as a sneer formed on her face as she glared at the black, smoke-like chain. She slowly turned back towards Naruto, the sneer morphed into a frown as she beckoned him towards her. Before Naruto could comply, Sora walked towards her, sniffing at her before staring into her eyes, as if searching her soul for her intents. Seeming to deem her no threat, he promptly turned around and sat down, staring at Naruto as if to say that everything was safe.

Hesistating for just a moment, he covered the gap between them with five steps, and as he came close to her, she softly grasped his face in her soft, clawed hands, her face leaning down and close to his, peering inside his somewhat cold and hurt blue eyes. What she saw in them brought back her sinister smile, though there seemed to be a touch of glee hidden within it.

After what felt like hours she spoke.

"**So we finally meet face to face, young freshling." **Her voice had the same ethereal quality to it as the rest of her, sending a shockwave through the boy. She traced one of his whiskered cheeks with a clawed finger, sending a shiver down the young teen's spine. She took a deep breath, seeming to relish something in his smell.

"**Yes, you are the one that they spoke of. Those old fools, so easy to coerce into telling us what we want."** The boy sent her a questioning gaze, just a tiny bit aroused by the look she sent him.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" He blushed slightly, having to resist licking his lips as she bent over even more, giving him a good view of her well-endowed assets.

"**All in due time freshling, as for my name..."** Here she took a few steps back before her entire form was covered by green flames. They exploded off her, Naruto instinctually covering his eyes with his arms, feeling the heat lick his skin, yet it wasn't uncomfortable, reminding him somewhat of the silk that the Hokage's robes was made out of, only warmer. As the flames died down he lowered his arms, and he had to fight between amazement, arousal and fear at what he saw.

Strangely enough, amazement was what won over.

Where the woman once stood was now a demonic figure of over ten feet. Her strange-colored hair was standing straight up, like a waving flame, and her body was lithe, yet covered in muscles. From her back sprouted four long, scaly appendages with something resembling a scorpions stinger potruding from each of them. Her cloak was gone, and the only thing hiding her modesty was a golden brah that covered her large breasts, chains extending from the part between the cleavage, and a small golden thong, hiding her nether parts. Her arms were now red and scaly, almost like a dragon's, and her feet was bony, somewhat like hooves. A small spike sprouted behind each leg, underneath her knees. Her legs also had another joint it seemed like.

Rising to her full height while stretching her extra appendages, she stared down at the boy with her glowing yellow eyes, noticing the amazement and arousal in his eyes.

Yes, this was the one.

"**I am Andariel, Maiden of Anguish, and the forgotten primordial evil of the world."**


	2. The lit candle

**AN: Welp, no one has told me to seize writing this story, so I'll take that as a 'go-ahead'. Has anyone guessed what the Shadowlings are? No? Well then, I will now reveal what they are. Ever played Kingdom hearts? The Heartless that hides in their own shadows is what I based the Shadowlings from. The only difference; The Shadowlings are actually dangerous, and their shadow-manipulative powers are a lot stronger.**

**Never played Diablo 3, though I will still use Azmodan and Belial, though they will be OOC if they enter my story. This story is dangerously fun to write, so is every part Sora is in. Diablo 2 is probably the first Mature game I ever played and finished, and it is one of my fave games ever, and Naruto is my first Manga/Anime 'I love this' experience... Dangerous combination... Anyway... Some of you will hate me for some of my decisions this chapter, but whatever. My story, my choices, my problems... Soooooo...**

**LET'S START!**

**~Despair~**

All was silent. In the distance, one could hear the water drip, hitting the stone floors below. The shadows themselves seemed to shift after the woman's demonic transformation, breaking Naruto from his aroused amusement.

As the demoness identified as Andariel finished her introduction, Sora hurriedly grabbed one of Naruto's hands, dragging the boy out of reach from the vile woman's newly revealed scorpion-like stingers. The tall demoness only seemed to smile even wider at the small being's reaction towards her, a small satisfied feeling flowing through her at seeing the imps loyality towards the boy. It reminded her of the imps, the Fallen that used to protect her and her domain. Though this being of darkness seemed to lack the cowardice that the Rakanishu-hailing demons had in spades.

As she once again glanced over to the boy, she found him lost in his musings, she was about to ask what he was mumbling about until he raised his voice somewhat.

"Primordial Evil... Sounds familiar... Where have I heard that before?" The boy mused, Sora cocking his head in thought, yet never taking his eyes of the demon in front of them. He was still unsure if that chain around her foot was a subconcious defense mechanism created by Naruto's mind, or just a show she put on to make his master trust her.

"Primordial, Prime Evils... Wait, I came over the term in a mythology book at the academy. How did it go again, umm... Seven great demons ruled the scorching planes, but only four remained there to see it's fall. The three banished brothers kept together, making a sacriliegeous bond between them. Diablo, the Devil of Terror, Mephisto, the Spirit of Hatred, and Baal, a creature simply known as the Destroyer in many cases... I don't remember the verse, but apparently, they almost destroyed the world eons ago, and only due to a few blessed warriors sent by the Angel of Justice did our world not fall into darkness..." Here he stopped, frowning in thought, trying to remember some extra details.

"There was also some rumors about something called the Soul Stones, ancient creations made by the gods themselves. They were special stones which housed the slain souls of the three prime evils, and the warriors apparently shattered the stones, hiding the fragments all around the world, even some in hell to ensure that the three demons would never rise again..."

He finally looked over towards Andariel again, a smug smile stretching across her face at the praise she was about to get.

"Maiden of Anguish... I can't say that I have ever read about you before. I have read about Azmodan, the Lord of Sin, and Belial, the Lord of Lies. The book even made passing comments about Duriel, the Lord of Pain, who kept the Angel of Justice temporarily imprisoned by the order of the youngest, and strongest of the brothers... The only thing I can connect to you is the myth of the slaughtered sisters, brave rangers who helped defend the holy warriors as they laid siege of some fortress, slaying the demon that stood between them and the way towards the demonic brothers."

As the boy spoke, the prime evil's smile slowly sunk into an impassive look, the Shadowlings tensing, as if preparing for an attack towards their master.

"Yet, there are only two names from the demonic army that was mentioned during that fight. Blood Raven, master sniper and former captain of the sisterhood, who later was raised from the dead and given necromantic powers to fight against the blessed heroes, and Cold Crow, master archer, Blood Raven's lieutenant, and a master of ice manipulation, same faith as her master." His eyes turned slightly cold as he gazed at the demoness, her mouth twitching slightly.

"I do not know if you are lying or not about your title, but until you can come up with some proof that you are one of the Primordial Evils, then I will have to ensure my own safety as you are an unknown entity within me. I must make certain that you cannot possess me. This is my mind, and only I am allowed to rule here!"

As he finished, Andariel lost her impassive look, and an almost disappointed sneer formed on her face.

"**Really now, how... Unfortunate."** Her stingers twitched momentarily, warning the Shadowlings and Naruto of the imminent danger.

"**I was really hoping that we could work together freshling, your powers combined with mine would have made us unstoppable, but it seems something like that will not happen... How utterly... Delightful."** With that she yanked the chain with all her might, the entrapment device shattering almost instantly at her strength as she sent one of her stingers towards the boy. All she hit though was air as Sora had instantly grabbed his master and teleported him across the room, away from the demoness. She looked at the almost three feet tall manifestation of corruption with a cruel smirk, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"**So young, haven't even taken your rightful place, yet you still have a horde of loyal minions to do your every bidding."**

Her words seemed to irk Sora somewhat fiercely as he brandished his claws in a feral manner, a serpentine hiss leaving his semi-inexistant mouth. Strangely enough, Naruto seemed to perk up at the sound, an almost confused look on his face.

Andariel, for some reason or another, seemed amused by the Shadowling's apparent words as a haughty laugh escaped escaped her mouth, her voice echoing around the room, the shuffling shadows seeming to increase its pace. An arrogant smirk stretched across her lips.

"**Seems like I angered your useless spawn, freshling. Maybe you should keep your idiotic beasts on a tighter leash."**

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as nary a moment later, the loud hissing came from everywhere around her, Naruto's imp army angered by her words. Though no one was more murderous at her words than Naruto as the look he sent her would have made a lesser being freeze in fear.

"Belittle me as much as you want, I do not care all that much," He began, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness as an eerie wind appeared from nowhere, the rusted chandelier above them groaning from the forced movement. Not a moment later, the chain that held it up snapped, sending it hurtling towards the floor, crashing between the two of them, the candles still intact and burning for some reason, and the cracks in the floor spawning even more Shadowlings. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and the torches around the room was snuffed out, and all she could see was the glowing orbs of the boy along with the still lit candles on the broken chandelier.

"**But the moment you dare to look down on those loyal to me is the moment your life is forfeit."**

Not a moment later the eyes disappeared, and she found herself in a world of agony, the feeling of hundreds of claws piercing her almost malfunctioning her pain-receptors. Suddenly, she was flung from whatever hurt her for only to crash into a wall. She barely managed to stand up again before her abdomen was pierced by something cold, for only the same feeling to appear at her throat and draconian wrists. She fell to her knees as her lower hoof-like legs was slashed violently over and over again, and to her extreme shock and embarassment she found herself screaming in pain. Her, the Maiden of Anguish, one of the main principles of torture!

Suddenly, she was forced down on the ground in a submissive pose, something which only served to infuriate her to ludicrous levels. As she pushed off the ground, she heard the unmistakeable sound of chains startin to creak under the effort. Her briefest hints of joy was shattered though as several chains was wrapped around her arms, legs, stingers and waist, once again sending her crashing face first into the uncomfortable cracked stone floor below.

She laid there for what felt like hours until she heard soft footsteps walking towards her. She slowly lifted her head, gazing upwards as far as she could, and laid glowing, hateful yellow eyes on the boy with pale-blonde hair. Though he held something in his hands, a newly lit candle, something which made her eyes widen.

The boy looked down at her with an unreadable gaze before switching it over to the chandelier. He seemed to do that a few more times before sighing.

"You never told me how you came here. If you truly are the Primordial Evil of Anguish, then you should not have powers like this. The only ones I honestly can say should have powers like this is Diablo, Mephisto, and Belial, seeing as their evils deals somewhat heavily with the mind... So how, how did you enter my mind? Was it you that made me sick?"

An angry growl was the only answer he received, something which he anticipated. Heck, he understood it completely. He himself would have been royaly pissed if something like this had happened to him. He sat down and sat the candle down on the floor which, for some reason or another, was smooth and un-cracked right where the two of them found themselves.

"When I snapped, the last candle started burning... Before, there were four candles lit, and I will take a guess and say that the lit candles are currently alive Primordial Evils. Diablo, Mephisto and Baal were probably never properly killed, seeing as their souls were only scattered, not destroyed, which only leaves that one candle... If the history that Iruka preaches about is correct, then we are a lot less sinful than we were in the olden days, which means that Azmodan probably is dead. Pain is something we can't escape, but Duriel was killed by the warriors, and the soul was later destroyed by the Angel of Justice... This only leaves the Lord of Lies and Maiden of Anguish..."

As he talked, his eyes never left the candle on the ground, his gaze never flinching away from it, as if it was the answer to his every question, the solution to all problems. Yet, both he and the so-called Maiden of Anguish before him knew that it was probably the direct opposite.

"Lies... Lies are rampant in this world. My entire life up until now has been filled with nothing else than lies... Well, that is only half-true. Lies and Sorrow. I have never been truly happy, even when I was together with Teuchi, Ayame and Iruka... I was never truly happy... Who knows, those three might also be liars, just like the Hokage, hiding their true motives and feelings from me under a charade of happiness, camaradie and... _Love_." He spat that word out like it was poison, once again surprising the demoness.

"A man once said to me that lies is the thing that makes the world go around. Initially I scoffed at him, thinking that he was trying to trick me, to somehow manipulate me. Though nary a week later, I began to question the integrity of the Hokage's words. I began to see his reasonings and words as flimsy, like he was constantly trying to cover up the truth..." He looked slightly melancholic as he remembered the man.

"Itachi, he truly was a genius of a man. He's what, seven, perhaps eight years older than me, yet when he was my age, he was already one of the strongest people in the village. Most likely one of the wisest too, and if he's still alive, I would love to meet him again. He saw the world as one gigantic lie, one gigantic ball of deceit and pain. I talked to him for quite a while the first time I met him. He's a ninja, yet he is probably the biggest pacifist I know about." He smiled slightly, the demoness hanging on to his every word.

"We was at an agreement for the most part, though we was completely against each other when it came to the so-called truths the Kage's in the villages spouted. I vehemently defended them, telling him that they couldn't have become leaders if not for the trust the people gave them. He meant that the the people simply trusted the lies in which each leader wrapped themselves in, not nececarrily the leaders themselves... We did agree on one thing though, and that is the fact that the general populus are like cows, simply there to follow the flock, not a single individual thought present in them. In short, mostly useless."

"He opened my eyes to the world. Not the pain, the sorrow or the despair, but rather the veil that blinded everyone. In a way, it is probably thanks to him that I met my lovelies, and it's probably thanks to him I am still alive..." He shook his head, breaking away from his memories before refocusing on the candle.

"I'm willing to say that this world is filled with more lies than ever before... Yes, Belial is probably still alive out there somewhere, playing his little game without a care in the world... I can't really fault him though, it's in his nature... And at last we have you." He muttered, finally looking away from the eerily glowing lightsource as his eyes pierced the surprisingly attentive yellow ones.

"If you are truly the last Primordial Evil, which, according to you is Anguish, then why have you made me feel everything else BUT anguish? If anything, before I met you, I was not filled with anguish, but sorrow, as it is first now I have truly realised just how much of my life is one gigantic conspiracy. If anything, if not for the fact that you tried to kill me mere minutes ago, I would actually have thanked you for indirectly 'showing me the light' as the saying goes."

Once again his eyes wandered over to the candle, and a pained smile entered his face, though if one were to look close enough, one could see that it wasn't entirely unsatisfied.

"There are now five candles lit. This candle burst out in flames when me and my lovelies attacked you. No matter if you are Andariel or not does not matter, as you are obviously filled with knowledge about the Primordial Evils and demons in general... The month before I grew sick, I progressed so fast physically, my strength has went up almost five-fold, and even before I was undeniably the fastest in my class. Now, I'm at least twice as fast as before... And then, during the last week, during my sick period, I have grown... Distant, and I turn weary around those I once deemed as loved ones. I relish in my illusions of getting rid of this village... I have changed, but I can't say I hate it."

Naruto licked his lips before he closed his eyes, shaking his head as a sigh left him.

"I lied to you before when I said that the book never mentioned you. You were basically the main topic of the chapter about the Order of the Sisters. You are nothing like the book said, except for the exterior look...No, you are not Andariel, the Primordial Lady of Anguish."

He finally leaned in closer to her, his eyes once again glowing blue as an aura seemed to envelope him, a cold mist leaving his pores.

"**Who are you truly?"**

For only a moment, the impostor in front of him seemed to ignore his orders, but before he could give up and lock her away for good, a sigh left the fake demoness' mouth, and a voice quite different than before escaped her lips.

"For countless years this worked... All that work, stopped by a demonic brat like you."

As the last syllable left her mouth, she was once again covered by flames, though these ones were grey, with a core that was pure black. Once again they exploded off of her, though this time Naruto did not care about covering his eyes, and the sight before him left him somewhat speechless.

The being, the _human man_ before him was about six feet tall, with a narrow face, high cheek-bones, red eyes, and semi-long, slicked-back, silver hair. He wore black chainmail armour with a black bodysuit underneath, and his chest along with his shoulderspads was decorated with what looked like bones. He wore metal fore-arm protectors with matching greaves, and his hands were covered by black leather gloves. A belt ran around his waist, and on it, a small stick with a small human skull on the tip rested in a hop.

"You... You're human?" Naruto whispered, his eyes dilated in both shock and anger. Another human that has lied to him, another human that has tried to kill him. He was seriously beginning to hate humans somewhat fiercely. The man only licked his lips, his eyes darting around a bit, as if searching for a way to escape, despite the fact that he knew no such thing existed. Finally he sighed before looking nonchalantly up at his captor.

"Yes, are there any problems with that?" His voice was deep, though not bass-like, and if the undertone of death wasn't present, then it would probably have been a comforting sound.

"You're not a Yamanaka... I don't recognize your face, so you're not from the village... The Bingo Book the Hokage gave me doesn't have you listed..." Naruto grit his teeth at the man, the look of non-caring still plastered on the obviously arrogant man's face. "Who are you!?" Again, not a single answer came from the man's lips, his face unchanging. Naruto though was not in a playful mood.

"What to do with you..." He whispered as Sora manifested beside him, hissing through his toothy grin, though this time, it was far more malicious than ever before.

"You are far to dangerous to simply be left alone here, you will probably find a way to break out of this, though it would be a shame to simply kill you, losing all your knowledge about demons and the old world... You tried to take over my body and soul, so perhaps I should find a way to do the same." This seemed to strike something within the man as his eyes widened in fear.

"Now now, don't be so hasty my boy. There are no reason for such actions. I am a lich, an ascended Necromancer from the southern lands, and I can be very useful for someone like you." He smiled a charming smile, though it did not seem to work against Naruto, as the boy only narrowed his eyes at the man.

"Oh really? What do you actually know about me that makes you say that?" If anything, the man only seemed to smile even wider, forcing Naruto to not sneer at the slimeball.

"Well, to be frank and honest, not a lot, though I know that you hate that village of yours. I can be the one to make that little dream of yours a reality. I can be the one that makes the village vanish if you like, I can be the one that makes your terrible past disappear." A malicious tint seeped it's way into his eyes and smile at the prospect of massacring the village, and the corpses which he could gain to manipulate and experiment on.

"I can be the one to return your pain a hundred fold, to be the one to make you relish in their screams of despair, to be the one that brings forth their actions of futility. I can be the one that fills their heart with sorrow and anguish, and the one that makes them see their past mistakes taken form." He finally meet Naruto's impassive gaze again, his own eyes glowing a dangerous red.

"I can be all of that, and the only price I ask is for you to spare me... So, what do you say?" He almost hissed out in excitement, thinking that this child would be easy to manipulate. After all, all children were hotheaded and easy to control.

"It's tempting to accept that offer of yours, and if you asked me a little over a week ago, I would probably jump on the chance... But there are a problem and a reason that I will not accept. The problem, I do not trust you to withold your part of the deal. You are a body-snatcher and a shapeshifter. The moment I release you, you can simply escape from Konoha, run to a place where I will never find you."

"And the so-called reason of yours?" The man sneered, fearing that the child would actually kill him.

"The reason I do not accept is simple." A long, black, jagged dagger formed in his hand, a cruel smile on the boy's face.

"The only one who is allowed to destroy the place of my suffering is me." With that he forcefully lifted the man's head from the floor before slitting his throat deeply in several places, a slight gurgle leaving the lich's mouth. Moments before he died though, he felt the wounds the child inflict on him heal, and the pain he felt himself in disappeared.

When he opened his mouth to speak though, not a sound left him.

"I wasn't entirely sure exactly where a person's voicebox sits, so I had to guess a few times. Sorry for the inconvenience." The boy smiled an innocent smile, Sora sniggering silently in the background before he grabbed the man, the chains moving around his body, ensuring that he couldn't move a single limb or finger. Before Sora lifted the man off the floor, Naruto snatched the man's wand, studying it.

"So this is a Necromancer's wand... I must be honest, when I read about your abilities, I was initially a bit revolted. Though the more I mused over it, the more I saw the usefulness of it all. A nigh limitless amount of loyal servants, ways to weaken the enemy while at the same time ensure that any damage you took, they would take too, siphoning an enemy's life, bone-manipulation, poisons and more... I'll have to find a way to learn Necromancy, probably by absorbing you... Well, not you, rather your knowledge." The man heard the words and tried to wiggle out of the Shadowling's grasp, though it seemed to be a futile effort. Naruto picked up the candle before walking over to the fallen chandelier, putting the piece of wax back to where it belonged.

"Sora, can you and the others trap him within the deepest recesses of my mind please? Some of you also keep an eye on him to ensure that he won't escape?" Sora gave a hiss, and this time, Naruto could swear that he understood what Sora said. Naruto only smiled as he watched Sora, the Necromancer and the twitching shadows in the room disappear, leaving him alone in the throne room. Suddenly, all the torches lit with normal-looking fire, illuminating the room a lot better than the ghastly green flame the Necromancer had produced.

"I'm the master of my mind." He mumbled to himself as he slowly walked towards the throne. "Only the Shadowlings and I are allowed to wander around here." He slowly walked up the steps before standing in front of the chair.

"I'm the ruler of this realm, and that man is only a guest. My world, my rules." And with that he sat down on the surprisingly comfortable chair, a sigh leaving him as he relaxed for a moment. After a few seconds, Sora appeared before him, his toothy grin in place, though this time it was more elated than anything else.

"Hi there Sora." He mumbled tiredly, the whole ordeal sapping him of his usual strength. Sora, once again at a loss of what to do, simply crawled up on his lap before sitting down, staring worriedly into his master's eyes. He simply chuckled in amusement, patting his friend's head.

"You know basically nothing about positive emotions, yet you always makes me feel appreciated and looked after... I don't know what I would have done without all of you, especially you Sora." Sora simply grinned again before patting Naruto's head. He turned around on Naruto's lap before leaning back, allowing the taller boy to rub his head contently.

Minutes went by, and for once, they were content with simply doing nothing, an unknowing father, and his son made out of pure darkness. Sadly enough, Naruto was reminded of a small something which had interested him to no end when he appeared in his mind.

"Say," Naruto began, thrusting Sora from his slightly dazed state. "When I first came here, I heard some sort of... Growling from underneath the floor. Except for you guys and that idiot, are there anyone else inside of here?" He seriously hoped that Sora would shake his head no, since he had no energy or will to deal with whatever was down there right now.

To his annoyance though, Sora cocked his head to the side for a moment before slowly nodding, flinching slightly at the angered look on Naruto's face.

"Fucking hell, can't people leave my body alone?" He muttered, his eyes softly glowing. "Please tell me that this guy is at least locked up somewhat heavily." He sighed in relief when Sora gave an energetic nod.

"Do you think that this has anything to do with that seal on my stomach? You know, the one that always appears when I use chakra?" Sora cocked his head again before jumping off Naruto, diving towards the shadows before disappearing. A mere minute later, Sora appeared again, an excited hiss leaving him as he nodded.

"So this time, it HAS something to do with my seal... As far as I can remember, I have always had this seal, and if the Hokage didn't lie, then I have had this seal since the day I was born, a bit over twelve years ago... Kyuubi attacked that day..." A groan left him as he connected the dots, his anger at the village only increasing at their apparent stupidity.

"Fucking shit, I have the freaking Kyuubi sealed in me! It's not enough with a mad Necromancer within my head, no, I also have the... Wait, this great." He whispered, Sora looking in wonder at his father's rapidly changing mood. Naruto though only stared down at the candle he had placed before.

"Sora, that candle lit the moment I snapped. The candles symbolise the currently alive Primordial Evils. That, combined with my absolutely extreme progress, and that strange sickness this last week, can only mean one thing." He slowly stood up before walking down the throne steps.

"As I said to that man, I have changed, albeit initially, I only thought it was mentally, but now I know better... I noticed some anomalies with my body. It's sturdier, and more flexible than normal, and every time I saw someone in pain, in despair, I was filled with energy, like I was siphoning power out of their pain... It all fits together." He whispered as he finally stood before his candle again.

"There is a reason the Maiden of Anguish hasn't been reborn yet. Her spirit probably needed to find a suitable vessel, someone's whose life would be filled with nothing but sorrow, pain and despair... That is the reason why I have been sick for over a week. My body was probably adapting to her as she slowly tried to fuse with me, as she tried to possess me... Yet I am still in full control for some reason." He turned towards Sora who stared at his master in amazement, for in his mind, everything his master said made sense.

"Something has either been blocking her, or destroyed her as she tried to take me over, and I have a feeling it's not you guys. The Necromancer tried to take me over at my weakest, he obviously knew what was happening, which is why he continued to call me freshling, which is why he called me a demonic brat... It is probably when I snapped that I killed off the original Andariel, so in a way, I should thank that idiot... My body has been turned into that of a demon... The villagers got their wish at last it seems." For some reason, he felt far less depressed at this than he thought he would, and as Sora grabbed his hand, he realized why, and an evil grin that was mimicked by Sora spread across his face.

"Who the fuck needs the villagers... Heck, who the fuck need the village, or humans in general? I'm not human anymore, so I don't need them. I'm not going to whine and cry over my lost humanity. For all I know, demons are nicer to be around anyway. You guys certainly are a lot better to be around than any human I have ever meet. In fact, I should try and find a way to hell when I think about it, perhaps gather an army and take over this place... Well, take over everything else but Konoha. The village shall burn, and not even ashes shall be left, for this place is simply to corrupted to be of any worth."

Sora hissed in agreement with his father, and this time, Naruto understood him perfectly. Naruto smiled softly, patting his first created Shadowling on the head.

"Father... So that is what I am to you. I must say I am honored by that... Let us show them what a true demon can do, let us show them the despair in which they thrust upon me. I'm not going to let my kind be forgotten any longer by these bastards, and not even the angels themselves shall stop me, not if I have anything to say about it." He looked over towards the four other candles, an idea popping up in his head.

"Diablo, Mephisto, Baal... You are technically now my brothers... I will find you, I will release you, and together with Belial, we shall finally take over this world. Somehow, we shall resurrect Azmodan and Duriel, and when this world is under our command, we shall take over the heavens itself, and our first target is the Angel of Justice himself." He gave a snort at that.

"Justice... Where was my Justice during these last twelve years? You have been sleeping on your job, and I will give you a rude awakening when I meet you and slay you." He kicked the chandelier, sending it crashing into a wall as the Shadowlings appeared around the room, all of them staring directly at him.

"Search my lovelies, search for the fragments of my brothers, search for the portals to hell! We have a lot to do, and not enough time to do it in. Jade! Star!" He yelled out, the two Shadowlings appearing before him. They looked exactly like Sora, though Jade had an slight green tint to her eyes, while Star's eyes seemed to twinkle like the stars in the skies.

"Jade, you are the leader of the retrieval party. If anyone finds a fragment of any of the Soul Stones, they are to bring them to you. You are then going to give them to Sora, which will give them to me. Star, you are the leader of the searching party. If anyone of you find a single clue about the whereabout of any portal, you are to report to Star here which will give the news to Sora, who, in turn, will tell me. Sora!" His pseudo-son saluted him.

"You are hereby the leader of the entire Shadowling army. I trust that you are up to this responsibility?" He gave a delighted smile at Sora's toothy grin. Sora had always been eager to do his every bidding, something which he appreciated.

"You all have your orders, disperce!" With that, everyone except for Sora and Naruto left the room. Soon, a soft laugh left Naruto as he stared at the ceiling, Sora, once again, cocking his head at his master. Truly, he has been doing that a lot today.

"Heh, and to think that I started this day simply wishing that the ramen would stop tasting like crap." Both he and Sora snickered at that, a comfortable silence stretching around them. After a few moments, Naruto looked down the corridor.

"I will have to do something about Kyuubi in the future. Who knows what that demon is up to, I can't really risk ANOTHER being trying to possess me... I mean, what is this, 'Take Over Naruto day?'" He gave a sigh before looking over at the chandelier in the corner, his form slowly disappearing from the throne room as he left his mind.

"... Soon, my brothers. Soon we shall be together once more. For now though, I, the Primordial Evil, the Lord of Anguish shall show this world the true meaning of sorrow and despair. In your place I will show them the meaning of Terror, Hatred and Destruction, though what I'm able to do is probably only a good warm-up compared to what you three are able to do."

And with that, the only one left in the room was Sora, and a single though went through the creature of evil.

'My father is so cool.'


	3. A Shadow's use

**AN: Wow, this story is fun to write! I expected somewhat pissed off responses when I revealed that Andariel wasn't Andariel at all, though that might have made it even better for people. Originally, I was going to make Naruto into a new lord, like Lord of Sorrow or Despair or something, but as you now know, that idea was scrapped... A thought suddenly occurred to me: Am I using the word 'Notion' correctly? If no, then tell me the correct usage please! I have also decided to use characters from Diablo 3, though they will be OOC since I do not know their personality.**

**Anyway, this chapter is more story-setup and character progression/relationships with a slight time-skip than anything else, so not a lot of action... And yet this is the chapter with the most action so far... And my longest one to boot... Anyway...**

**LET'S START!**

**~Decay~**

By the time Naruto came back to a concious state, it seemed like the world had shifted to day as the light from the sun shone him in the face. A weak, hoarse groan left him as he slowly opened his eyes, his muscles burning in fatigue while his nausea, although dampened, was still present.

'God, I feel weaker than a newborn kitten.' He groused in his mind as his vision swam. Apparently his body needed more time to recover after the hell Andariel put his body through. He looked around through blurry eyes. Where was he? He obviously wasn't atop the monument anymore, as there quite clearly was a roof above his head, and the bed he laid in was too comfortable to be his own, so that ruled out his apartment. As his eyes cleared, he managed to recognice the room he now resided in, having been there a few times in the past.

'This... This is Iruka's place... So he found me atop the monument, eh? Heh, I halfway expected him to just leave me there.' He frowned at his own thoughts. Iruka was probably the only one he was indecisive about. Did the man actually care about him, or was he ordered to act like he did to try and create some sort of bond between him and the village? No, the man was simply too geniune with his intentions and feelings. The man actually cared for him.

'No matter. He's human, I don't need humans for anything else than slaves and possible cannon fodder later on. Plus, I can get so much better once I get away from here.'

As he laid there, staring at nothing, he couldn't help but think about the Hokage, the man that had created a false life for Naruto. What would he do the next time he saw the old bastard? Should he act like nothing was wrong, or should he blow up in his face? He instantly ruled out both of them. Acting like nothing had happened would not work, as his anger for the man was simply to great at the moment, but cussing out the man to the ninth circle of hell would quickly raise suspiction against him, and if he found out that Naruto knew about the Kyuubi, then he would probably have his memories erased by the damned Yamanaka clan, probably by the clan head himself just to ensure a perfectly done job.

Maybe he should act on his new title? Show the man a deep, if somewhat false anguish that has been created by the village he loves oh-so much? Yes, maybe he should try and pray on the man's apparent good-will, try and drag some favors out of him, perhaps even a technique or two. Maybe he even could give the man a heart-attack due to some sort of self-inflicted guilt. A small, malicious smirk formed on his face. Yes, he was going to trick them all, bend them all to his will, and when the time is right, escape from this wretched place, and they would be too deep in their own grief to stop him. He was the brother of the Lord of Lies, so may his unholy blessings help him in his current goal.

While he rested there on the bed with different scenarios running through his head, he barely noticed Sora rise from the shadows underneath the bed, the shadow creature looking worriedly at his obviously still recovering master. Naruto's demeanor lightened slightly when he saw the dark creature.

"Good morning Sora." The boy whispered, smirking slightly as a toothy grin spread across Sora's semi-inexistent face. Any morning he saw Sora was a good morning. How he survived before he created Sora and the other Shadowlings he couldn't understand. As he stared at the Shadowling, an idea formed in his head.

"I have a question. You and the other Shadowlings are made out of dark emotions, right?" Sora gave an affirmative nod. "Then is it possible for you to... How to say this, influence a person?" Sora cocked his head to the side, as if telling him to explain what he meant.

"I got the idea from Andariel and that Necromancer. Is it possible for anyone of you to... Semi-possess someone, to enter someone's mind without them knowing, and somehow enhance their negative emotions?" Sora entered a thinking pose for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders, a hiss leaving him.

"_I don't know, never tried."_

"Then here's the idea." Naruto whispered, smirking darkly. "Right now, I'm at Iruka's. When he comes back, I will act vulnerable and heartbroken, as if the village finally has crushed me. When he is at his weakest, when he least expects anything to happen, I want you to enter his mind and check if my idea is possible or not, though remember that it needs to be a slow change if it is possible. I don't want the changes to be noticed quickly, as that might put us in danger." As Naruto explained his idea, a grin spread again across Sora's face, a grin full of malice.

Oh yes, he was going to make his master proud. If there existed no way for him to influence Iruka, then he would create one, and if that was impossible... Well, he could always kill the man from within, seeing as they had basically no use for him then. He would simply have to either destroy the corpse completely, or try and make it seem like suicide. He disappeared underneath the bed again, hiding in the shadows, relishing in his father's smirk.

Naruto's smirk vanished though when the vertigo re-appeared.

As his stomach made itself known by twisting and turning, he quickly threw himself to the side before emptying whatever stomach-acids that resided in his gut at the floor below before collapsing, whatever miraculous strength he had garnered vanishing again. Thankfully though, his nausea seemed to have vanished with the acid for some strange reason. As he laid there, he could have sworn that he heard sizzling, so when he leaned to the side and opened his eyes and stared at the widening hole in the floor, he couldn't help but gape in shock.

"What the hell?" He almost yelled, his voice raw from lack of hydration, though that was easily forgotten as he watched as whatever fluid he threw up ate away at the floor, the hole nowalmost as big as his head. Suddenly, somewhere around the house, he heard a door open and close, signifying that whoever owned the residence had returned from whatever affairs he had to do. As the door leading to his room opened, he was greeted by the scarred face of his academy teacher, Iruka Umino, holding a bag in his right hand. Whatever happy greeting he was planning to say was instantly gone as he stared at the aforementioned hole in the floor, alternating between staring at his now damaged floor and the obviously still sick and dizzy boy.

He quickly shook his head to snap himself out of whatever daze he currently was in. He could ask about the floor later, right now he had a sick boy to tend to. Smiling softly at the boy, he dragged the chair beside his desk towards the bed before sitting in it, the bag planted firmly on his lap.

"Good morning Naruto, how are you feeling today?" He said softly to the boy, his smile dropping just slightly when the boy didn't meet his gaze as he laid back on the bed, the boy closing his eyes due to fatigue. It was nothing serious Iruka said to himself, probably just the shock of actually being sick that took a hit on the boy's mood.

"To be honest, worse than the time when I was bitten by one of the snakes from that snake woman." The boy mumbled just loud enough for Iruka to hear, and the teacher couldn't help but grimace slightly at the memory. The boy had been in a pretty bad condition for about a day, though his body seemed to gain a slight resistance towards that snake type's particular poison, so Naruto had always seen it as a mostly positive experience. Iruka though had almost butchered the woman for almost killing Naruto.

"Have something to drink, your throat must be hurting somewhat badly." He said, handing the boy a flask of water from the bag, the boy gulping the life-giving fluid down greedily. The man smiled again before looking out the window, his mind wandering. The boy sat the now empty flask on the nightstand next to the bed before lieing down again, his eyes closed.

"I found you passed out atop the monument, almost burning up because of your fever. Care to tell me what you were doing up there?" Iruka asked finally, his eyes turning back towards the sick boy, his worries clear in his voice.

Seconds passed between them in silence, and for just a moment Iruka believed that Naruto had passed out again. Not that he could blame the boy, as he had a pretty bad case of whatever disease he had contracted. Naruto wasn't asleep though, and the answer he got was not one he expected.

"I... I just had to get away from it all. I had to get away from the villagers and the glares, the hate... I just can't take it anymore." A small tremor entered the boy's voice in the end, a sign that the boy was close to tears. Iruka sat there, slightly lost as he had seldom, if ever seen this side of Naruto before, this fragile, wounded side. The boy had asked him a few times before why the villagers hated him, but all he could say at the time was that they were wrong, and that it would change once he became a ninja. Hopefully that would work here too. He tussled Naruto's hair gently, earning the pale-blonde boy's attention.

"One day Naruto, one day you will prove them wrong, one day they will realise their mistakes. That is when they will see who you truly are." A sad, but confident smile was on Iruka's face as he preached to Naruto, though it slipped off his face when Naruto only averted his gaze.

"How can I believe that? For over twelve years I have tried to make them happy, yet all I get back is scorn and hate. How can I know that they will ever change? H-How... How can I know that you aren't simply lying to me, that you aren't using me for your own amusement?" This time, a tear did leave the young teen's blue eyes, and Iruka could feel his heart fracture just slightly at the sight. The boy wasn't done though as he glared at the man, all his pain and suffering shining through.

"Why shall I become a ninja for this village when everyone would rather see me dead? Why should I defend those villagers if they would rather backstab me at any moment? W-Why should I help them when they will only throw me away once my use is gone?" The boy screamed, tears falling freely from his eyes as Iruka stared at the boy, his heart breaking. How could he refute those words? The boy was right, after twelve years, they still hated him just as badly as the day he was born, and they would do almost anything to hurt him, if not physically, then mentally... He might not convince Naruto to trust the villagers, as he saw the futility in that, but he could convince Naruto to try and trust him.

Softly he cupped the boy's face in his hands, gently, but firmly forcing the boy to look into his own eyes, a small, but warm and heartfelt smile on his face.

"I will not tell you that you are wrong in your accusations against the civilians, for I would lie then... Don't become a ninja to protect the villagers, but to protect those close to you, those that you love and love you back. I may not agree with everything you have done, but I am extremely proud of you and your accomplishments despite all your setbacks, and I love you like a brother. If you don't want to become a ninja anymore, then that is okay. As long as you follow your dream, then I will always be proud of you."

Before the two of them could understand, they found themselves embracing each other, Naruto hiding his face in Iruka's chest as the man had his chin atop the blonde's head, rubbing the shivering boy's back soothingly with his eyes closed.

Naruto though wasn't crying at all. Quite on the contrary, he had his eyes open as he stared at the floor, a small grin forming on his face as he watched Sora slowly slide up the unsuspecting teacher's legs. It only took a few more seconds before the shadowling covered the man's entire body in an intangible sheath of darkness. A moment later, it went inside of him, Iruka shivering slightly as he opened his eyes, just missing the last bit of darkness that entered him. A mere second later Naruto pushed himself away from the man, frowning slightly.

"To become a ninja, I need to do the clone technique, right?" He mumbled, earning a sad nod from the man. "Are there no other clone types I can use to pass the test? I have too much Chakra for the basic one."

Iruka just sat there for a moment in silence before smacking himself, a frustrated groan leaving him.

"God, you're right. I totally forgot that the rules never specify the exact type of clone required." He mumbled, staring at the still pale boy. "I do know another clone technique, but you need better Chakra control before I can teach that to you, though it's not usually taught more advanced ways to control Chakra in the Academy... Oh well, a little headstart over your peers doesn't really hurt now, does it?" He mumbled in a faux-conspiratory way, earning a smirk and a nod from Naruto.

"I'm not going to teach you anything though before this sickness leaves you, is that clear?" He said, staring sternly at the boy who nodded in understanding.

"I understand. Heh, not that I could learn a lot now anyway, it hurts just to move... Can you help me back to my apartment though? I would like to rest there."

For just a moment, Iruka was going to deny the boy's request, wanting the boy to stay with him so he could keep an eye on his health, but then he thought that perhaps the boy would feel more relaxed within his own home. It made sense in Iruka's mind, seeing as the boy never liked to be inside another person's house anyway. So he simply smiled and nodded before lifting the boy in his arms, the bag still held in his grasp. He idly noted that the boy was heavier than he looked, though he simply filed that away as somewhat compact muscles. Then again, the boy did seem a bit wider underneath his jumpsuit... Nah.

"Let's go over the rooftops. That way, you won't have to deal with the villagers today." He muttered, earning a small smile from the boy in his arms. Opening the windows wide, he jumped out of the house, the boy clinging to him. Keeping to his word, he quickly ascended the nearest wall and used the roofs as his means of transportation. A mere two minutes later, they were outside Naruto's small apartment. Fishing through his orange pants, Naruto quickly found his keys before opening the door. Quickly finding the bedroom, he laid the boy carefully under the cover after taking off his jacket.

"Please don't do anything rash for a few days Naruto, we do not want a backlash you know. I will fill your fridge with some food and drinks, so you won't have to shop this week, okay?" The boy nodded, gaining a smile from the man as he tussled the boy's hair softly.

"Take care Naruto, and find me whenever you are healthy and ready for the lessons, okay?" The boy gave another nod, making Iruka feel a bit better. Though when he turned around to leave the room, he missed the dark smirk on the boy's face, nor did he catch the fact that part of his shadow stayed in the room. After a minute the two of them could hear the man leave the house. The boy slowly sat up in his bed the exact moment when Sora manifested from the leftover patch of shadow.

The young teen and his pseudo-son stared at each other, one in anticipation and interest, and one in excitement. After a moment the Shadowling grinned, giving a thumbs up, something which brought a matching grin on Naruto's face.

"Excellent Sora, I knew you were the right one to do the job. You have a connection with him now, am I correct?" The Shadowling nodded. "Perfect. With enough time, do you think it's possible for you to completely possess him?" Sora gave an eager nod which only widened Naruto's grin. Suddenly he remembered the hole in Iruka's floor, and he motioned for Sora to help him.

"Help me over to the bathroom, I have to check something in the mirror." Sora complied, holding Naruto tightly as Naruto stumbled towards the bathroom. He grabbed the sink, balancing himself as he happily noticed that he had regained some strength during the last hour he had been awake. Looking at himself, he noticed that he wasn't as pale as yesterday, which meant that he was recovering. His hair on the other hand, seemed to have lost even more life, hanging listlessly around his head, the colour bordering on white, something which Naruto could not understand. What the heck did his hair have to do with his demonic transformation? He shook his head, ridding himself of that thought as he opened his mouth wide.

Except for slightly larger canines and generally sharper teeth, he couldn't really see anything out of the ordinary. His tounge was still a tounge, both above and underneath, and his throat looked absolutely fine. He was about to close his mouth before he noticed a small irregularity, something which wasn't there before. There, far back on his tounge was a small fold of flesh, something which he knew he didn't have before. Flexing his tounge in several ways, he finally found out how to move that part, and when he did, it opened itself into a hole.

Staring at it, he got the slightest feeling that he should know where a phenomena like that should occur. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and his mind span at the possibilities.

"The snake-lady would have a field day if she saw this." He whispered to himself, a sinister smile spreading at the possibilities. He didn't throw up acid before, he spit it up... He could spit acid. He could spit freaking acid! How cool and useful wasn't that?! Who knows, maybe he could spit poison too? He just had to find out how to do it on command instead of whatever he did back at Iruka's house. That made him pause for a second. Hopefully Iruka wouldn't ask about how the hole was created, for Naruto really did not want to reveal this to the man. Of course, if wherever Iruka was going to train them was hidden enough, then he might just have Sora create a little disappearing act if the man became too nosy.

Getting back on the topic of conciously spitting acid, he quickly asked Sora to move over the cabinet which held towels and other washing and drying items, revealing the wall behind it. He knew that right behind that wall was a poster, so if the hole created wasn't too big, then he could just push the cabinet back into position and act as if the hole didn't exist. He should probably do this outside, but the initial test wasn't really all that dangerous... Hopefully. He really didn't want to explain why his house was gone. Once he had found out the exact muscles he had to use, then he could practice the motion outside later when he wasn't as exhausted.

"Let me see, according to what that snake lady said when I was nine, the poison-gland on several creatures are often found below their throats, generally in the chest area. Hopefully, it's at the same place when it comes to me, or I will have a hard job finding out exactly where it is." He mumbled as he looked down at himself.

"Huh, I've gained some musclemass." He idly noted. Seems like another reason to love demonic body-altering. Quickly banishing those thoughts, he began testing out his, for lack of better words, muscles, to see where and how he had to flex. Ten minutes later, a frustrated Naruto stared at still acid-free wall.

"Sora, you got any ideas?" The Shadowling cocked his head, staring at the T-shirt covered chest of his father before walking over and softly punching several areas, as if to find out where this gland of his was hidden. Suddenly, when Sora hit the area right below the throat did the same, albeit weaker feeling of nausea come back to Naruto, and the boy quickly hit that area again before feeling the acid rush out the hole, leaving his mouth and hitting the wall. Naruto rubbed his throat while staring at the rapidly dissolving wall, not used to the acid-spitting feeling at all.

"No wonder I can't do this at will, it's basically a new muscle. I have no experience using it, so I can't really use it effectively yet... But now I know the feeling, so now I simply have to replicate the notions." He said to Sora, the both of them watching the hole slowly getting bigger, until it finally stopped. Thankfully, it wasn't too big, so he could cover it up. As Sora pushed the cabinet back to it's original place, a yawn escaped Naruto's mouth.

"I'm going to sleep Sora. Keep an eye on Iruka, will you? And tomorrow, come to me... Around nine O'clock. If I'm not completely recovered, then we will simply leave the house and find a training ground to test out this new ability of mine. I really need to master this to an acceptable degree as fast as possible." During his small speech, they had once again entered the bedroom, the boy lieing underneath the covers. As the Shadowling saluted, Naruto closed his eyes and almost instantly passed out, Sora leaving nary a second later.

On the other side of town, Iruka suddenly remembered the huge-ass hole in his floor.

**~Decay~**

A week came and went, and for most of the village population, nothing of particular interest happened. One specific individual though couldn't have had a better week, despite certain circumstances. This person was none other than our favorite blonde, though he looked more like an albino nowadays. He had a theory that the Necromancer managed to alter his body just slightly before Naruto stopped him, though Naruto couldn't deny that he looked cool with white hair.

As the boy scrubbed himself as he showered, he couldn't help but reflect upon the last seven days.

_*Sora had woken him up at nine o'clock, and despite the fact that he felt a lot better, he just knew that he wasn't in tip-top condition just yet, which was evident by the residue aching he still felt in his body. That didn't stop them from leaving the apartment and finding a seldom used training ground though. It was a nice, open place with a stream and full of trees, though there were noticeably less trees by the time Naruto was done, some reduced to ashed while others were simply wasted away._

_Practicing his acit-spitting went well, though they had to take several breaks due to a reason they really should have foreseen. At the start, he couldn't really compress the muscles around the gland at will, so he had to kickstart it with a solid punch. After about ten minutes though, he could, after some time, reproduce the movement needed to put pressure on the gland. Five minutes later though he had to take a break, as his throat had begun to hurt somewhat fiercely due to the sizzling liquid, and no more acid came out. It made sense, obviously he didn't have an infinite pool inside of him, and his body needed a bit of time to produce more acid. Hopefully, after a lot of practice, his body would be able to reproduce the acidic liquid faster so he wouldn't have to worry about having no acid when he really needed it._

_He took about an hour-long break, and during the break, he had entered his mind again to visit his trapped guest. The Shadowlings had done a fabulous job at keeping an eye on the Necromancer, the man being bound both by the chains produced by Naruto, and trapped in a cell within his mind, guarded by a small battalion of his lovelies. Naruto was surprised though when the man looked almost... Resigned, like he had given up escaping, at least for the moment. He didn't buy it for a moment though, the man was obviously plotting something._

_With the help of another Shadowling, this one named Pyre as it had a slight red tint in his white eyes, he somehow managed to knock out the Necromancer, which is strange since he was basically only a spirit, a spirit inside another person's mind, so how he could be knocked out was a mystery Naruto would solve in the future... If he could recall his ponderings at a future date that is._

_Sadly enough, since the man was simply a spirit at the moment, no Shadowling could enter his mind, seeing as he had no corporeal body for them to semi-possess, and his psyche was simply to strong for Naruto to rip apart with his own mind, so getting any useful information out of him would not be an easy task. This only made Naruto give Pyre a sadistic smile as he gave the sadistic little imp his orders before he went back to the world of the awake._

"_If we can't pull what we want out of him, then we simply have to force his mind to shatter. I will find a way to learn Necromancy, and if I have to break him mentally and absorb him to learn it, then so be it. Torture him in all matter of ways your lovely little mind can come up with, though be careful not to kill him. If he squeals like a little piggy, then give me a nudge."_

_Sadly enough, he could only continue his acid training for another ten minutes before being forced to stop for the day, as his throat was hurting pretty badly due to his body not being completely used to the foreign substance yet. Oh well, if he couldn't do one thing, then he could work on something else._

_With Sora's help, he managed to summon the Necromancer's foot-long wand from his mind. From what he could remember, the Prime Evil's return had wiped out most of the humans on the planet, which is the main reason why the art of magic was lost for countless millenia. According to a much more recent myth though, Chakra was discovered by the Sage of the six paths. No one knows how he managed to do that, but Naruto had a theory that Mana and Chakra was basically the same thing, just with a different coat of paint. It made sense really, seeing as the two energies had way to many similarities than what could possibly randomly occur._

_The first thing on the agenda though was not to learn Necromancy, as even the simpler spells was seen as advanced magic. The Sorceress that fought against the demons along with the other band of warriors might only have used elemental magic, which was seen as somewhat basic, but her mastery over it was unparalleled, casting blizzards, thunderstorms and flaming meteors. Of course, Ninjutsu might be stronger, and they might be able to use more elements than the mages of old, but the mages of old could cast the fiercest of magic faster than the blink of an eye. Ninja's though needed more time because of their reliance on hand-signs to channel their Chakra, so simply due to pure spamming, a mage of old could beat jounins, perhaps even Kages if they were strong enough._

_The boy smirked down at the wand, one of the possible catalyst for channeling Mana. He might not have a teacher to learn magic-weaving from, but he had always learned best from trial and error anyways. Plus, if Chakra and Mana actually was the same thing, then he had a shit-load of Mana to test with. Oh, the joys of being a demon-container.*_

As he stepped out of the shower, he quickly dried himself before throwing on a simple black T-shirt and dark-green pants. No matter how much he loved the color, a Primordial Evil couldn't be seen wearing orange jumpsuits.

He had managed to produce a small, but hot fireball that day, something which burned down a few trees before a couple of ninja's stopped the fire. Of course, by that time, Naruto had already left the vicinity towards another training ground with a small waterfall. Like heck he wanted to explain the damage done to the other clearing.

A day after his acid and magic training he was back to full strength, and he had met Iruka. It had shocked Iruka when Naruto had asked the man to get some new threads for him, though the man could understand. With less colorful clothes the boy wouldn't be instantly seen and glared at by the entire village.

For three days the man had taught Naruto how to climb trees with Chakra, and the boy could honestly see the many uses of the exercise. Increasing his control over his Chakra while also increasing the size of it, plus the fact that he could now scale walls and other vertical obstructions much easier. Naruto could envision himself crawling along a shadow-filled roof, silently killing his target with his acid before leaving the area unseen.

The clone technique Iruka taught him honestly surprised him, as he believed Iruka would perhaps teach him water clones since his name meant Dolphin. Instead, the man knew the earth clone technique, a somewhat Chakra expensive, but useful technique as the earth clones were the most durable of all clone types, being able to take multiple hits before dispersing.

Apparently, with the notable exception of the normal illusion clones, Naruto was a prodigy when it came to clone techniques, as merely two hours later he had mastered the technique to an acceptable degree, which meant that he could form at least five clones in under three seconds. He relished at Iruka's gobsmacked expression, as the man had taken almost a week to master it to Naruto's degree.

The day after that was Sunday, so Naruto had once again been training with his acid-spitting and magic-weaving at the first clearing. That was the day he found out that magic casting wasn't just to know how to weave ones magic, but it also came down to a person's will. In other words, while the magic-weaving decided the type of magic used, it was his will and imagination that, for some strange reason or another, decided the power behind the spell, which was discovered when another patch of trees were destroyed by an explosion of fire. He should probably have kept himself around the waterfall clearing.

'Sadly enough, this day is monday.' Naruto thought, his mood dampening as he took a bite out of his toast. He wasn't sick anymore, and the only reason Naruto didn't attend the Academy that last week was because Iruka had allowed him to skip due to their extra training. Now though, their after-school class was over, and he had to return back to that infernally boring place.

Of course, since it was monday, then they had sparring that day, something Naruto was more than happy about attending nowadays. Mondays and thursdays were the sparring days, the whole day being used so each student would have several fights against different opponents. Last time he had sparred before he became sick, he had almost killed a boy he couldn't remember the name of due to his raw strength, breaking several of the weaklings ribs with a single punch, a rib-bone puncturing one of the kids lungs. Thankfully, it was his last match that day, though he had been reprimanded after the boy was brought to the hospital by Mizuki. The man had quickly quieted down though once Naruto asked him if an enemy would have held back.

Locking his door, he quickly jumped up the nearest roof before barreling towards the House of Horror as many students called it. For some reason Naruto never understood, the Hokage's office, the mission administration office, and the Academy all resided within the same building. Two high-profile buildings at the same place, they were basically begging invaders to attack that area.

He quickly banished those thoughts as he landed in front of the Academy entrance, some parents glancing his way before dismissing him due to his new clothes. He quickly made his way down the halls before finding the correct room, the door wide open, quite possibly due to the screeching platinum-blonde and pinkette girls inside. He simply walked inside before sitting down at the nearest seat, right beside a boy he never managed to remember the name off. For some reason, no one noticed that he entered the classroom.

After a shriek of victory from the pinkette as she managed to land a seat beside her 'lovely Sasuke', the class settled down for a moment, the students muttering between each other. Nary a minute later, Iruka entered the classroom with a smile and a good morning, the class actually returning the greeting for once. He quickly went down the list of people that day before coming to the last three people.

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

The black-haired boy gave a 'hn' something which earned a resounding squee from all his fangirls. Quickly cleaning his ears after checking them for any hearing damage, he called the next name while staring straight at the boy, the man silently watching the reactions of the class.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

For a moment, the class looked around for the boy before finally noticing the albino at the front with the raised arm. Silence reigned in the class for a moment as they noticed that the boy didn't wear his customary orange jumpsuit as they dismissed his new haircolor for some reason or another. A second later, two things happened. First, the Hyuuga that sat right behind the boy fainted, her face red, then the whole class screamed in perfect synchronization.

"WHAT?"

"Good to have you back, Naruto." Iruka said with a smile after the boy's peers had gotten that scream out of their system, ignoring the looks of shock, confusion and mild outrage that had spread across the classroom. After the Yamanaka was called, something no one noticed due to their still shocked states, they were led outside towards the sparring grounds behind the academy, most of the class still staring at the pre-blonde, now albino boy.

After several boring matches, one where the Akimichi heir pounded some civilian sap, a pairing was called that sent murmurs along the crowd. Though most of the murmurs held slight sympathy for the white-haired boy.

"Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki, will you please step forward?" Iruka called, and a few seconds later the two boys stood before each other, one with an emotionless visage behind his coat and glasses, and one with an almost unnoticeable smirk on his face, his eyes slightly hidden due to his hair, and a canine slipping out from his lips.

"It has been a while Mr. Uzumaki." Shino said almost robotically. "According to my bugs, something about you has changed, and I am not talking about your appearance. Would you like to explain?" Everyone knew that the boy loved to boast, so it was quite a shock for the class when the boy simply crossed his arms, his smirk slipping slightly, sending a pointed look at the Aburame that practically screamed 'are you stupid?'

"Both of you ready?" Iruka asked, both of the boys nodding. "Then begin!"

Shino didn't enter a ready stance when Iruka started the match, believing himself superior to Naruto despite his new looks. That was all Naruto needed, for a second later he had already crossed the distance between himself and Shino, a palm-strike towards the bug-users chin narrowly missing as the boy leaned backwards, though he managed to knock off the boy's glasses. He quickly fell on his hands and sent a spin-kick into the Aburame's stomach, sending tall teen almost fifteen feet back, a glob of blood escaping his mouth, and his eyes widened in surprise. Before Naruto could continue, he was stopped by Iruka as the teacher called the match in Naruto's favor.

Silence spread across the field at the sudden victory, the silver-haired assistand Mizuki slowly helping the Aburame to his feet, the man sending discreet glares towards the demon-container.

As Naruto walked away from the arena, Iruka called out the names of Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga, though only the pink-haired girl Sakura Haruno seemed to notice that her crush was entering the ring. The platinum-blonde girl Ino Yamanaka on the other hand stared at the fox-boy, thoughts about his seemingly previously hidden muscular body going through her mind.

As the Uchiha and the Hyuuga duked it out between them, Naruto sat on the ground, leaning against the fence as he stared at the skies above.

He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be in the village at all. He had better things to do, like helping his Shadowlings search for the pieces of his brothers, and finding a portal that leads to hell so he could gather the army he needed. Heck, he even had other plans he was making, though they wouldn't come to fruition before he had learned some Necromancy, particularely something along the lines of total resurrections.

He had so much to do, and a limited amount of time to do it in. Especially after the indirect warning his unwilling guest gave him. After the third day of torture, the Necromancer had said a single sentence before he went back to either shutting up or screaming profanities.

"_May the Archangel Tyrael have your head."_

Once that name was muttered, something within Naruto screamed both on despair and hatred, as if something within him instinctively knew the name from before. It was most likely from Andariel, as some residue instincts or memories had been imprinted and locked away within Naruto, most of which he had to unlock. During Andariel's reign though, there was only one angel that had participated in the war against the demonic forces of the Primordial brothers, and that was Naruto's prime target.

He did something both fantastic and terrible when he imprisoned the Necromancer within himself, and both of them was connected to the fact that despite everything the man most likely has done to keep himself alive throughout the years, he was still one of the blessed warriors of the Angel of Justice. Tyrael had probably already sensed the rebirth of the Primordial Evil, which could only lead to one thing. He was going to send a new band of blessed warriors to kill Naruto, though this group would be one less compared to last time, as Naruto held one of them trapped. Plus, if Naruto was honest with himself, then he had probably the most important one of them trapped.

'And hopefully, in time, I will have that man's knowledge and abilities for myself.'

The day slowly passed, and Naruto had two other fights. One against that boy he sat besides when the day started... He still couldn't remember his name. He merely had to take a step towards him before the lad gave up. The last fight was against one Kiba Inuzuka, without his ninja-pet of course.

The boy was as arrogant as a heir to a clan came, only outshined by the Uchiha boy. The unruly boy merely smirked at Naruto, having obviously forgotten Naruto's fight against Shino. Naruto though merely stared at him, bored out of his mind. He'd rather fight against Shino again, as the boy would actually take him seriously now.

"Both of you ready?" Iruka asked, Naruto nodding while Kiba yelled out 'To pound the deadlast? Of course!' Iruka could only shake his head at that, having an idea about how this would end. Shino underestimated Naruto, and he's more skilled than Kiba. At least Shino had the excuse of being the first one to fight Naruto, so he had no idea about Naruto's apparent increase in speed, strength and skills. Then again, shouldn't they have expected this seeing as Naruto had almost killed a student a few weeks back? They probably believed it a fluke.

'I was right it seems when I thought he had gotten heavier.' Iruka mused, glancing at Naruto's stronger looking, but still somewhat short body. The palm-strike he sent against Shino was actually well executed, flowing almost perfectly over to the acrobatic spin-kick. Then again, was that skills, or just extremely good instincts? It did not matter, as it seemingly works for Naruto.

"Begin!"

"Heh, this'll be easy. I'll beat ya with a single punch!" The dog-using boy exclaimed loudly, his eyes closed with an arm in front of him, a cocky smirk on his face. A moment later he was sent back with a broken nose due to a straight punch from Naruto.

Before Kiba stood up, Naruto jumped high of the ground, spinning slowly. As Kiba finally raised himself off the ground and glared towards where he believed Naruto was at, he didn't see the growing shadow below him, nor did he expect the drop-kick which sent him crashing back to the ground, face first and unconcious. This time, as Iruka called the match in Naruto's favor, he got some applause from the other students, the class beginning to warm up to this new skillful and much more silent Naruto. One Hyuuga though seemed sad at his changes, the girl thinking that the boy had lost the usual warmth which radiated from him.

"Alright class, the Academy's over for the day." Iruka called out to the restless students, most of them leaving the area as fast as possible while the somewhat more sensible students simply walked.

"Hey, Naruto!" Iruka called to the boy, an annoyed, but interested look sent his way. He grabbed the boy's shoulder, smiling down at him with pride. Finally Naruto seemed to become the splendid fighter Iruka knew the boy actually was.

"You did great today. You capitalized on Shino's underestimation, earning you an easy victory, and you used Kiba's arrogance against him, earning you another easy, if slightly bloody victory. Just like a ninja, you used every opportunity given too you to win. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you." Naruto muttered softly, smiling slightly towards the teacher.

"You know, if you continue like this, you might actually become the Rookie of the Year despite previous scores. How does that sound?" Iruka asked, frowning slightly at Naruto's pensive look.

"I... I don't really know. The villagers will probably create some problems when their golden Uchiha boy doesn't come out at the top of the class. Heh, they'll probably cause some fuss just if I become a ninja at all, thinking that I'll become too strong to control or something... I just want to get by for now to be honest, and when I become a Chuunin, maybe join ANBU and become a hunter-nin, so I can get some fresh air away from... Them."

At the boy's words, Iruka's face darkened slightly, glaring out of a window.

'God damn you civilians.' He groused darkly, several ways to inflict damage to the people that has hurt the boy mentally flying through his head. He forced those thoughts away a moment later as he patted Naruto's shoulder in a supportive manner, the two of them coming to a crossroads, one way leading to the teachers' lounge, and one way leading out of the Academy. Giving a last smile to Naruto, the two parted ways, though a few seconds later Iruka stopped, suddenly recalling something.

"That's right, I totally forgot. Lord Hokage wants to see you!" He yelled to the boy's back, the young teen freezing, a dark look on his face at Iruka's words, though the man didn't see that. As the teacher left, a small patch of pure darkness flew across the floor before merging with Naruto's shadow, Sora entering his mind. His master would need all the help he could give too keep his cool with that old, lying man.

Naruto rushed towards one of the bathrooms, checking if he was alone before locking himself in one of the stalls.

"Mirage." The boy whispered, a Shadowling appearing from his own shadow. This one was probably the darkest Shadowling he had ever created, because everytime he looked within the creature's eyes, he seemed to look at the eyes of death itself. He created her when he was nine and a half years old, and she slaughtered a gang of eight teenagers, a group that tended to harass her master occasionally.

"I have a job for you. If you ever find the chance during the coming conversation between me and the Hokage, you are to possess him and slowly make him become consumed with guilt, depression and hatred towards this village. When the time comes for me to leave, I want him to be so far gone that he is basically suicidal, as I want him to take his own life the day I escape from this place. It will most likely be a sufficient discraction to ensure my escape. If you cannot find the chance today, then I want you to watch him until the chance presents itself. Is that clear?"

"_Crystal clear my lord, I will do this with great pleasure."_ She hissed, the both of them grinning darkly. She might be his darkest and most evil Shadowling yet, but it was his own darkness that created her after all. The euphoria she would feel at the old man's suffering would also be felt by her master. Once again she merged with his shadow, and he quickly left the bathroom.

As the boy began his trek towards the ruler of the village, he couldn't help but whisper something under his breath, Sora and Mirage agreeing completely at his words.

"I blame you for this Tyrael."


	4. The deals

**AN: I... Actually don't have a lot to talk about this time... More story-setup, a larger time-skip than last time, and character progression/relationships. Has anyone noticed that Naruto is a hypocrite in my story? He hates being lied to, but he has no problems lying to others... I love writing Sora, he is hereby a main character!**

**Anyway, this is the possibly the last chapter I can manage to produce rapidly. I will be quite busy from now on again, but whatever. I will still try! Soooo...**

**LET'S START!**

**~Agony~**

"You asked for me, Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the esteemed and twice selected leader of Konoha and it's entire ninja corps stared at the boy he proudly calls his semi-grandson in shock. He had expected the boy to barge in with his orange jumpsuit, yelling out 'hey gramps' for everyone to hear with possibly the largest smile known to man on his whiskered face.

That did not happen though. Instead, he had knocked on the door and politely waited for the affirmative before entering his office. Plus, the old man wasn't blinded by his entrance due to his new clothes which, for some reason or another, had mute colors.

"N-Naruto? What has happened to your clothes? Your hair?" He almost let a question about the boy's apparent lack of hyperactivity and happiness slip, but that could wait for a few minutes. He subtly ordered the ANBU to leave his office, the elite soldiers leaving the room in total silence without being seen, yet the boy's eyes seemed to flicker over towards one of them as he left. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other before Naruto averted his gaze, the boy's shoulders slumping in apparent defeat.

"I..." The boy seemed lost, as if seeming to not know where to start. He rubbed his right arm wearily, as if trying to calm himself. "I... I can't really answer you about the hair, as I don't know myself yet, though it's hopefully not anything dangerous... As for my clothes..." Here he stopped again, his head turning towards the window that looked out towards the village.

"Sit down and take your time Naruto, and only talk if you feel it is necesarry." The wizened old man said with a gentle smile, motioning towards the chair in front of his desk. The boy seemed pensive for a moment, though he seemed to have made up his mind as he slowly walked over to it before sitting down softly, as if the chair might spring to life and attack him.

Hiruzen stared at the boy with worried eyes. The boy looked completely downtrodden, and the usual spark of joy in his blue eyes was gone, and the boy's hair had somehow turned white and almost dead-looking, hanging limply around the boy's head, as if someone had sucked the very life out of it. He was tense, as if expecting something bad to happen. What had happened to the boy he loved?

"I..." The boy began, a gulp leaving him as he seemed to have gained back enough courage to talk, his voice soft, a complete contrast to how he usually expressed himself.

"F-For the last week and a half, I have been sick for probably the first time in my life. A-At the start, I simply believed that I was exhausted due to me training a lot more often to try and become stronger, b-but only a few days later, I barely managed to leave my bed to eat." Here the boy stopped, a flinch leaving him as he looked at his hands which was pressing down on his lap.

"I... I used the next f-five days to do nothing more than rest, a-and since I had nothing to do, I began to t-think about my p-past... S-Specifically about t-the... The..." The boy stopped again before hugging himself tightly, his eyes peering out towards the village and the people below. Hiruzen quickly got the message, and a sad frown left him.

"You were thinking about the villagers hatred towards you, am I right?" He asked, the boy licking his lips, not meeting the man's eyes.

"Y-Yes... Their... Their h-hatred for me is becoming u-unbearable, and I... I just can't..." The boy shook slightly, his blue eyes peering out the window, a gaze full of trepidation falling on the people walking below them.

"T-They've hated m-me for so long, I..." The man raised his hand, a deep, sad frown on his face, his mind racing. This boy... Has he always harbored this sadness?

"Am I right when I say that you are questioning if the village will ever accept you?" The man whispered, wincing slightly at the sharp flinch which left the boy, the young teen closing his eyes and seeming to fall into himself. Not that he could blame the boy, seeing as the villagers had done basically nothing to earn his trust.

"F-For twelve years I h-have tried t-to make them h-happy, a-and all I have got back i-is hate and s-scorn... H-How? How can I d-defend them when I b-become a ninja if t-they would rather see me d-dead? Why should I p-protect them if they'd rather k-kill me?" The boy opened his eyes to stare at the man between his lack-luster hair, tears leaving his blue orbs.

The Hokage stared at the boy in total silence. He was speechless, not by the words the boy had spoken, but rather his eyes. How could such young eyes radiate such a sorrow? How could a boy barely past his twelfth year of living know such despair and anguish? Had he truly been so blind up until now to have never seen the sadness that had obviously built up within the one he proudly called his second grandson? How could he answer the child's questions without seeming like he pardoned what the villagers had done?

"W-When I walk down the street, I can h-hear them talk between themselves a-about me, h-how I am a c-cursed child, a damned child, a d-demon brat... I... I can't take it any longer! P-Please, make them stop!" In the end, he screamed almost hysterically, having fallen from the chair to his knees, his hands clasped together, begging the man to help him. Tears fell rapidly from his eyes, and the broken look that was shining through them almost crushed the old man's poor heart.

Quicker than Naruto could see, the man had rushed around the desk before kneeling in front of Naruto, clasping the boy tightly to his chest. The boy sobbed loudly, constantly muttering about the villagers and how he wanted their hatred to stop, the old man simply letting him, his own tears leaving his closed eyes. He felt honestly afraid for the boy, not due to the Kyuubi within him possibly manipulating him due to his apparent mental breakdown, but he was scared of the possibility that the boy might turn down a dark path, not the path his former student walked down, but the path several war veterans walked.

As the man prayed to whatever deites that existed out there to help his pseudo-grandson, a black shadow slowly seemed to spread across him. It covered his legs, and mere seconds later, all but his head was covered, the appendage hidden a second later. Mirage seemed to squirm for a second, as if having difficulties entering the man. A moment later though, she slowly merged herself with the man, entering his mind, and beginning her master's will.

For just a moment, Hiruzen felt a dark chill run down his spine, as if his doom was certain, though he quickly threw that silly thought away as he finally felt Naruto starting to calm down. For a minute, they just sat there in silence, relishing in each others warmth before the boy softly pushed the man away from him. The boy looked physically and mentally tired, though a small spark of life seemed to have entered his eyes again.

"I'm sorry for freaking out like that." He whispered, his eyes looking everywhere but towards the leader of the village. Sarutobi only smiled softly at the boy, his hands at the boy's shoulders. He idly noticed that the boy was a bit broader than last time he had seen him, but quickly put that away as the effect from his extra training.

"It is okay my boy. I'll hazard a guess and say that your new attire is to not garner the interest of the civilians?" The boy seemed somewhat embarassed at the question, the boy giving a nod, the man only smiling kindly towards him.

"It is a sound idea to be honest, and that strange phenomena with your hair only makes it harder to identify you... I can't force you to put your trust in the villagers, as you have been through too much for that to ever happen... I can honestly say that you are a stronger man than I could ever be, having lived through so much, but still pushing forward. I know I don't say this often to you, but I am extremely proud of you. You are like a grandson to me, and it pains me to see you in such anguish. You have grown so much..." Here the man trailed off, seeming to lose himself in thought. The boy only stared at the man, having seen the small flicker of concious thought that had left the man's eyes for the smallest of moments. Inwardly, he smirked in victory, knowing that the man was his to control now if he played his cards right.

"I think it is time for me to reveal something to you, about you." He finally said, sighing at the end.

"I have not been entirely honest with you throughout the years, and will not ask for your forgiveness if you hate me after this, as I don't know if I deserve it." He looked at the boy, a sad but serious frown on his face, hoping that he was making the correct decision.

"Twelve years ago, Kyuubi attacked on the day you was born. Your generation, and those younger than you has been told that the Fourth killed the beast... This was not possible, seeing as Kyuubi is a manifestation of pure energy, making killing him physically impossible. He had to do the next best thing..." He stopped for a moment, his heart breaking at the absolutely crushed look Naruto sported.

"That... That is what the seal on my stomach contains, isn't it? I... I hold the... The Kyuubi within me... The villagers believe I am the Kyuubi... That is why they hate me." At the whisper in the end, another tear left his right eye as the Hokage pulled him into another hug, feeling the boy shiver slightly, though he seemed far more collected now than before.

"I am sorry for with-holding the truth from you. I-I believed that it would be for the best that you did not know, that if you weren't told until you were older that you could have a chance to find friends and acceptance, but it seems like that was not to happen." He whispered at the end, tightening the hug he had enveloped the boy in for just a moment before letting go, finally standing up again before walking around the desk, situating himself in his chair.

Ever so slowly, Naruto arose from his still kneeling position, looking at the old man before him, every wrinkle on his face seeming even more pronounced than before, as if his age finally was beginning to catch up to him. Slowly, the boy met his eyes again, and the man saw something he should have expected. A confident, but far less joyful look with just a slight tinge of anger behind it.

"I... I can't forgive you right now. For too long have you lied to me, I can't just forget that..." He gulped, seeming to hesistate upon his next words.

"There is something you can help me with though..." His eyes flickered slightly over towards the pictures where the old man's predecessors and successor hung.

"Iruka told me that, that I shouldn't become a ninja to protect the village, but rather to help and protect those close to me, those I find precious... I can't bring myself to look at the civilians in anything else than anger, but as long as those precious to me is within this village, then I will protect it, if only to protect that person..." He swallowed again, peering into the old man's attentive gaze.

"I need to become stronger if I want those I love to be safe... I need help gramps. Can you please train me until I become a Genin?" Naruto bowed slightly while staring into the aging man's eyes unflinchingly, his blue orbs silently begging the man for just the tiniest amount of help.

Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. It was a risky proposition the boy gave, asking the village leader for help in his training when the one in question wasn't even done with the academy. Then again, this was a golden opportunity for the both of them. The boy would gain a solid foot inside the world of ninjas, and Hiruzen might just get the boy to forgive him. He had seen the boy train through his crystal ball, and his physical exercises was more than acceptable for someone his age, it clearly showed his physical superiority compared to the rest of his classmates.

The man wasn't worried about showing favoritism, as honestly, a lot of Jounin teachers, and even the First and Second Hokage themselves showed favoritism when it came to their teaching. If they cried foul, then he could simply say that he was grooming the next Hokage, as every Hokage was allowed to do that, and if they made a fuss about that... Well, he would show them why he was elected as the Hokage not once, but twice.

But what to train him in?

According to the report Iruka had given him right before Naruto came, his fighting style seemed to be completely instinctual, no actual style being used, yet everything he had done seemed to simply flow together in a deadly combination of moves. Should he help the boy and give him a style that might limit his imagination? No, no he should not. Several of his fellow ninjas in the first and second war had fought without any real style, simply using what they felt was appropriate at the time, and at the time, it had seemed most effective. Some people was simply not meant to be... 'in control' for lack of better words.

Should he try and teach Naruto some Genjutsu? The boy certainly had the imagination necesarry to utilize the art to its full potential, though his chakra control, or rather lack of control was something to be wary of. Then again, it is a possibility that the boy, simply through raw overpowering, could force Genjutsus to work, and since the most common ways to break an illusion was to force one's chakra through one's body, his illusions might simply be to strong to disrupt without hurting one-self, almost guaranteeing a handicap.

Yes, giving the boy at least an introductory look on the art of illusions might be a boon in the end. It might take a long time, but he believed that the boy might be able to cast illusions, if not through control, then through force.

But what about Ninjutsu?

This was a simple decision. The boy was a Chakra-powerhouse already. With a bit of training, he could spam techniques left and right for a few hours, and simply be a bit tired in the end. Plus, what if he used the fox's chakra when casting a jutsu? Would it simply be impossible, would the jutsu rebound and hurt, maybe kill Naruto, or would Naruto cast an incredibly powerful version of the jutsu? So many variables, and thankfully, so much time.

But what to start him on? Should he actually go right on learning techniques, or should he try and teach Naruto a chakra control exercise or two before letting him start Elemental Manipulation? He should probably teach Naruto how to walk on water before they start any training whatsoever. Maybe teach the boy how to create and attach chakra strings? Maybe make the boy proficient with using a weapon? But what kind of weapon? Would a simple sword or staff fit the boy, or would he need something a bit more unpredictable and wild? Maybe a pair of chakrams? Nun-chakus? Axes? Hammers? Perhaps even whips?

No, focus... Yes, perhaps starting on Elemental Manipulation would be the best. If he was unlucky enough and the Jounin the boy got in about six months time was... Insufficient? Or perhaps the word would be incompetent? No matter, if the man or woman was not up to scratch, then the boy would already be ahead of his two other team-mates, and might actually be underway to create his own techniques. If the boy showed enough skill by the time their first C-rank came around, then perhaps he should field-promote the boy? After all, the Chuunin exams is simply one way to get a promotion.

At least an introduction to illusions, chakra control exercises, Elemental Manipulation, perhaps even a technique or two. He should maybe find the boy a weapon. If the boy prefers a blade, then perhaps a short one for best maneuverability. If a staff, then he could tutor the boy himself. For less popular weapons, the boy would probably have to find a few books, but he could still try and help the boy...

He had made his decision.

"Twice a week, after the Academy on wednesday, and the whole day on saturday, you are to meet me here. We will then go to a training ground of my choosing, or a remote clearing if all my choices are occupied. During those days, I will help you with four subjects. On wednesday, Chakra control and Genjutsu. On saturday, elemental training and weapon handling." He took a drag from his recently lit pipe, relishing the taste of the tobacco.

"My reason for Chakra control should be obvious, as you yourself has proclaimed before that you have trouble controlling your chakra. My reason for Genjutsu training has several incentives. Your imagination is simply astounding, and an open mind is a must to be able to master Genjutsu. I also have a feeling that we can get your control up to a certain point where illusions are a viable option, and if the situation occurs that your control does not meet the standards... Well, we can always try a different method, which is to force a Genjutsu to form. It has not been done before, but then again, only a few has ever tried, so if it is possible is currently impossible to say." He took another puff, collecting his thoughts.

"My reason for Elemental Manipulation is... A bit more personal. In the situation that your future Jounin teacher is... Insufficient, then you will have something to fall back on. Those who has a certain mastery over an element has usually bunkered down and made a few techniques of their own. I have made a few myself on my down time, when I had nothing to do." He licked his lips slightly, suddenly wishing that he had a glass of water.

"And at last, weapon training. While most ninja use either kunai, shuriken or senbon, there are a few that has taken up a weapon. The seven swordsmen of the hidden mist for example has seven different swords, all used differently, all with different abilities, and even the weakest of them can be considered an elite. I have personally taken a liking to staffs throughout my years... And then we have the fabled objects of the Sage of the six paths himself. While not technically weapons, they are still probably the deadliest objects currently in existance... But I digress. My point is, I want you to try and take up a weapon." He looked straight at the boy now, forcing down a smile at the boy's rising expression.

"In six months you are to be a Gennin. For six months I will train you. By the time the graduation exams roll by, I am absolutely certain that you will be the most powerful Gennin alive. So in conclusion. Yes, I will teach you my boy." He finished, his heart soaring as he watched the delighted expression that shined from Naruto's face. Yes, he silently mused, he had made the correct decision, and nothing would be able to change that.

"I... I don't know what to say, I..." Sarutobi raised his hand, silencing the flabbergasted boy.

"It is okay, you don't have to thank me. Now, I believe I have held you up for far too long, seeing as the sun has already set. Time sure flies when we talk about important subjects it seems, so you are free to leave. Continue your hard work, and I can guarantee that you will become a splendid ninja, perhaps even greater than I was at my prime." He watched the boy smile as he gave the man a slight bow before turning around, waving goodbye over his shoulder.

'He will become great, I just know it.' The man thought to himself, missing the bit of darkness that left him and connected to Naruto's shadow. As the boy left the building, he quickly scaled a wall before landing on a roof, quickly travelling towards his favorite training spot, the place with the waterfall.

'It worked.' He smirked. 'It actually worked... It was so easy.'

Three minutes later, he entered the clearing, not a single person anywhere to be seen. Naruto sat down on one of the rocks beside the waterfall, an eerie smirk plastered on his face as the boy seemed to shiver slightly in mirth. Sora and Mirage slowly arose from his shadow, the two of them staring at their master.

Then a chuckle left him. The chuckle was followed by another one, then a soft laughter that quickly escalated into a loud, maniacal laughter. His voice echoed around the clearing, the pure mirth in it would have brightened anyone's day if not for the fact that it sounded like a psychotic killer was the one laughing. Quickly controlling himself, Naruto took a deep breath before looking up towards the sky, a few stars visible as the sun had already set, a large grin on his face.

"Is this how you feel Belial!?" He screamed to the heavens, his grin still present. "Is this the euphoria you feel every time one of your schemes comes to fruition!? Is this the pure bliss that circulates through your body every time someone acts perfectly devilish!?" It might have been whatever sanity he had left that was slipping, but he could have sworn that a star was destroyed by his words, only widening his grin.

"When we meet, I'll probably be happier than ever before, but I'll still punch you in whatever face-like structure you have for the shit I have went through." He muttered, snickering slightly.

Seconds passed, and the three of them simply relaxed at the sound of the waterfall. After about a minute though, a Shadowling, Jade to be specific, arose from the darkness of the trees at the edge of the clearing, a very small, red stone in his clawed hands. Time seemed to stand still for a moment as Naruto choked on his breath, his eyes wide. So soon?

The Primordial Evil slowly stood before striding over towards the Shadowling, the creature raising his hands, presenting the small fragment. As he reached his loyal servant, he stretched out his right hand, pausing only slightly to imprint this moment in his mind before he took the small shard.

A shiver of pure, unrefined terror swept across him for the slightest of moments, and the pure joy that arose within him at the feeling was unmatched by anything else he had experienced during his somewhat short life. This was the real deal, a shard of a Soul Stone. He raised the small fragment to eye-level, holding it between his thumb and pointing finger as he peered deep within the crimson shard, a smirk on his face.

"So we finally meet, Diablo, my brother."

**~Agony~**

One month. One month had passed since the day he managed to trick the Hokage to train him in Ninjutsu. One month since Jade had found the first fragment of a Soul Stone. One month since his progress had sky-rocketed faster than he had ever believed would be possible for any being.

Naruto sat in his chair at the academy, bored out of his mind as he listened to Iruka drone on and on about some history that Naruto couldn't even begin to care about. It would not matter soon anyway, his time was slowly running out, and the time for his wonderful escape was approaching, though still a bit slowly for the demon's liking. He couldn't deny though that the last four weeks had been a tremendous boost for him. He glanced around the classroom, his eyes finally landing at the brooding boy Sasuke.

It had become unquestionable. He was officially the strongest student at the academy. Before, that title had been given to Sasuke, something which was only partially well-earned, as Shino was a fierce contender for the title. Three weeks after his return to the Academy though, he had been pitted against none other than the onyx-eyed wannabe-avenger.

If they believed that the Inuzuka was arrogant, then they had obviously never meet the survivor of the Uchiha massacre, though Naruto had begun to call it 'the time when the bushes was trimmed.' Having been praised as the best student of their generation basically daily had inflated the boy's ego somewhat fiercely, something which Naruto found ridiculous since the boy hadn't even unlocked his Sharingan yet, and there was a chance that, like every Uchiha, he would never be able to achieve it anyway.

Naruto had finished the match in a simple manner. As the boy rushed him, the Uchiha sent a straight punch towards his face which the albino simply caught in his own hand. A moment later he smashed his other hand into the boy's chest twice, breaking four ribs while bruising three others before kicking him away, ending the match with Mizuki rushing the boy towards the hospital who, according to the rumors, had some hefty inner damage done to him, the doctors almost losing him more than once. Strangely enough, for the students that is, Iruka didn't try and reprimand Naruto for almost killing Sasuke, and for a single moment, Naruto saw the tiniest of smirks cross the teacher's face.

Naruto smirked at the memory, rubbing the biceps on his right arm slightly as he remembered the satisfaction he felt when he pounded the boy.

He couldn't really complain. While his physical improvement had slowed down, he was still becoming stronger at a far more accelerated pace than any normal human could ever hope to achieve. Another positive achievement Naruto could smile about was the fact that his acid didn't hurt his throat any longer, and that his body seemed to have increased the production speed of the dangerous liquid. It still wasn't up to any satisfactory standard, but it was slowly getting there.

Glancing out the window, he noticed the Hokage talk to the younger students, the old man's own grandson in the group. The aging leader's wrinkles seemed deeper than ever, and he looked slightly pale, small, almost unnoticable dark bags forming under his eyes, like he hadn't gotten a good nights sleep in a while. The smirk Naruto bore morphed into a frown as he looked at the man. He despised the man with his every fiber, but he was so useful. Of course, the man's use was slowly running out for each week that passed, and since tomorrow was saturday again, he would finally learn the second step of his wind manipulation.

Genjutsu wasn't something Naruto could say he was a great fan of, but he couldn't deny the fact that he was intrigued at the art. To trap people in an eternal nightmare which simply enough did not exist, to escew their senses to they stabbed themselves. To make himself invisible to another person's senses for only to dissolve that person in his lovely acid... Who was he kidding, he was hooked. While he was better at Elemental Manipulation, he found Genjutsu a lot more fun. Plus, it was a lot more subtle.

He looked down at his hand, the green leaf held in his palm looking completely innocent, for only to be violently ripped apart a moment later by an unseen force. He had begun to try and replicate spells using his primary element which was wind. Then again, was he replicating the techniques or simply creating new spells? He couldn't really say, not that he actually cared all that much. It was slow going, as he hadn't even managed to create a mild breeze yet, though he had a feeling it was less his fault, and more the catalyst in which he was using.

No matter how much he wanted, the wand that he stole from the Necromancer simply enough was not attuned towards his own Mana frequency, and it's usefulness was rapidly disappearing as Naruto's own natural weaving was quickly overcoming the faulty catalyst. This was probably for the best though, since he did not want to be dependant on an object to help him cast his spells. It would only hinder him in the long run if his catalyst somehow was either stolen or destroyed in combat. He would have to destroy the wand soon just to ensure that absolutely no one could use it after he as done with it. The man in his head would probably have a hissy fit if he saw his wand destroyed though.

The Necromancer had somehow managed to resist Pyre's torture incredibly well for thirty-three days now. The moment his plan was foiled, he had locked away his memories, barricading his memory-doors completely. Last week though, he had gotten the tiniest of progress from the man. It was only for a moment, but that was all that was needed for Naruto to dwelve into the man's psyche and drag out a single little solitary memory, and for Naruto, that memory might be the most important one of them all. The day the man had tried his first Necromantic experiment.

It had surprised Naruto immensely when he found out that Necromancy and Bone-manipulation in general actually simply was an advanced, yet somehow bastardized version of Earth magic, as he had expected that it was some sort of forbidden branch of magic that only the darkest of wizards could do, but apparently, if you simply enough was a good enough mage in general, then everyone could learn Necromancy simply through a bit of trial and error. You simply enough manipulated the calcium and other minerals in a skeleton to 'awaken them from the dead' while using a small bit of Mana to keep the creature together.

Finding skeletons had never been a problem for a Necromancer, for no matter what, under every person's feet lied skeletons, though some, if not most of them lies deeper than one might believe. Heck, if Naruto's theory was correct, then he could probably find some human skeletons hidden within some of the gigantic trees surrounding the village, as the fabled First Hokage apparently managed to create the forest that inhabited Fire Country, pulling up ancient roots from who knows how deep underground.

While that had given Naruto his first look at the Necromantic path, it had taken him no closer to the fabled Absolute Resurrection spell they were rumored to have. While that spell, in the grand scheme of things was useless for Naruto, it would certainly boost his future armies if he managed to bring back certain people and demonic beings.

He was snapped out of his inner musings as the bell rang, and something resembling a stampede was heard as most of the students rushed out of the academy. As he stood up, he couldn't help but smirk slightly. He had finally gotten taller, now standing eye-level to the 'lovely' Uchiha, though he couldn't wait for the time when he was towering over everyone. Of course, even if he remains short, he would still tower over them all when they were thrown to the ground, dead or dying by his, his minions, or his brothers hands.

His brothers. He had gotten two fragments during the month, both of them belonging to his other brother, Mephisto. The blue shards, while cold to the touch, seemed to have a small flame within them, the flames of hatred. Naruto and his other brothers were probably the only creatures alive that could touch the Soul Stones without being affected by the aura that radiated from them. While others would be consumed by pure terror and hatred simply by being close to them, Naruto simply felt a lingering happiness that he could not explain. He kept the fragments within Sora, just to be safe, the imp more than happy to keep them for Naruto. Naruto always felt happy around the Shadowlings nowadays.

'They are family.' He mused to himself, a small smile on his face as he walked to his normal clearing, the one with the waterfall. 'If I cannot be happy around my own family, no matter how dysfunctional it is, then who can I find happiness with?' His smile slipped slightly, suddenly remembering his two slain brothers.

'Azmodan... Duriel... I will bring you back somehow. Even if I have to breach the inner sanctum of the heavens and fight off every angel that exists, I will reclaim your souls... Though not before avenging you.' He sneered in his mind, eyes darkening as a title crossed his mind's eye.

Tyrael, Archangel, and the Angel of Justice. The one that had destroyed the lives of most of his brothers, and the one that had left Naruto to rot and be killed in that pest-riddled village. He could not give a damn about any other creature. He would gladly spare the entire world of his wrath as long as he got a shot against that so-called holy being. Sadly enough, he would probably not meet him before he had slain his band of holy assassins, as the holy creation would be forced to intervene with the world's affairs once again.

As the clearing came into view, he quickly rid himself of any revenge-driven thoughts. He idly noticed the several cut-up trees and gouges in a few rocks that littered the ground. He could not explain it, but he had taken a liking to using an axe. Not just a normal axe either, but a large, two-handed, double-edged battle axe. The old man quirked an eyebrow at the choice, and the fact that the boy had decided to wield the massive thing with one hand, but he had seen much, much more bizarre things in his life. The man had even been nice enough to draw up a summoning seal on Naruto's arm which was connected to the large weapon.

He shook that memory away. Today was not like any other day. This was the day when he was finally going to meet his unwilling tenant. Nothing had happened between them yet, and Naruto was becoming just the slightest bit skittish at what the gigantic demonic entity within him might be planning.

As the boy sat on his favorite rock, he felt the familiar tugging motion within his head, right behind his eyes. For just a second, all five of his senses completely disappeared, and he floated in an absolute void of nothingness. It was actually a strangely comfortable place, and for a moment he wondered if this was a part of his mind, or simply just his astral projection needing time to adjust to the mind-travel. Slowly, his senses came back to him as the throne room appeared, the boy sitting on the throne.

He looked around, grinning at the changes. The obsidian walls had been fixed, and the empty torch-holders along the walls had been filled, the light sources burning silently, illuminating the room in a comfortable glow. The ceiling and floor, which he had identified as marble was fixed, and the red carpet along the floor looked perfect, as if it was just created. The chandelier hung proudly from the ceiling, the five candles still burning.

There was one changed detail though. To the left and right of the carpet, two large holes was now situated, both of them seemingly endless, as the darkness inside of them stretched further than the eye could see. This was the birthing place of his lovelies, and he saw it as a massive improvement compared to the cracks which they were born from before.

As the boy walked down the throne steps, Sora formed beside him, falling in step with his father as the shadowy creature walked on all four. Interestingly enough, he had begun to feed on the darkness that had begun to form within Iruka, and as a result, he had grown larger, almost half a foot, standing now at a proud three-and-a-half feet. His body also seemed a bit more human proportion wise, the head not as large compared to the rest of the body, and his sinewy limbs had a bit more definition to them. Naruto had asked why Sora didn't feed on Naruto's darkness, though the answer he got was simple. Sora simply didn't want to.

The duo walked in a comfortable silence as they entered the corridor that lead towards the rest of Naruto's mind, the tunnels still looking catacomb-like. They passed the Hall of Memories as Naruto had dubbed it and came upon the very same crossroad he had found during his first visit, though this time, all viable options was open, the floors having been returned to a usable state. Only one path interested Naruto though, and that was the one which emanated an extremely faint, but malicious red glow.

Slowly they began the trek down the corridor, both of them thinking about different scenarios that might happen during the coming confrontation. Something the Hokage said in his office when he told Naruto about Kyuubi had actually struck a cord within the boy. Apparently, everyone believed that Kyuubi was a manifestation of impure energies, basically power taken physical form, and no matter how much Naruto wanted to refute that claim and call it false, he simply couldn't.

Why had none of the nine tailed beasts been killed up to now? Certainly, a lot of people have tried, and with enough men and persistance, they could certainly somewhat easily kill at least the weaker ones. Heck, it was rumored that a single Kage-level shinobi could most likely take care of the one and two tails and still come out of the fight relatively intact with all the limbs still connected to the body. Yet all of them were apparently still alive. It did not make sense! A collection of energy, no matter how strong, should not gain a physical form, nor should it gain a conciousness.

At least not naturally.

The two of them came to a staircase that winded downwards, which made sense for Naruto since the Kyuubi was below him when he first entered his mind, and the entire place had pretty much been straight up until now. The staircase itself was suprisingly long, perhaps over a hundred meters tall from bottom to top. They were greeted by a pair of fairly large metal doors at the bottom, the doors having rusted in several places, and one of the hinges seemed to have been destroyed. A light seemed to emanate from behind the doors, shining faintly through the crack between the two obstructions.

For a moment, Naruto stared at the doors before raising a foot, smashing it into one of the two metallic objects, sending it flying for at least twenty feet before it finally crashed to the floor, metal grating on metal, an annoyed grunt leaving everyone in the vicinity at the loud sound.

As he entered Kyuubi's den, he almost had to shield his eyes at the nigh blinding light that emanated from a gigantic orb in the middle of the room, the malicious red glow basically pouring from the ball of energy. Interestingly enough, the walls within the room was perfect, quite unlike the rusted, water-damaged metallic walls right outside the double doors.

A shuffling sound and the audible noise of chains clenching snapped his attention to behind the massive orb.

There, standing barely two feet above the ground, with a body that hinted at severe malnutrition was none other than the mightiest of all the tailed beasts, the being that was rumored to be able to destroy mountains and create tidal waves with just a lazy swipe of his tails. The pitiful looking creature that stared at him with the utmost hatred while chained to the wall was none other than Kyuubi, the creature that had cursed him with a life of hatred, the being that had destro... What?

'Wait a second. What am I thinking? It is not Kyuubi that looked at me with scorn all these years, but rather those humans. Kyuubi might have been the magnet that drew their ire, but it was the hatred from those pathetic wastes of flesh that made my life worse than hell... If anything, as far as I can see, he is as much of a victim as I am.'

Slowly, but purposely he walked around the titanic orb of power, his gaze never leaving the shivering, but hateful form of the once mighty beast. Strangely enough, he noticed, the ball that now was almost behind him did not make a single sound, not even a weak humming sound like he had expected.

He stopped barely a foot away from the now small entity, their eyes still peering within each others 'soul window'. After a minute, the fox relaxed, if only slightly, lieing his weakened body down on the uncomfortable floor below.

"**So, we finally meet... I would have said that I expected more, but who am I to make judgment at someone else's corpulent mass."** As expected, his voice was deep, almost demanding respect, yet there was just the tiniest amount of exhaustion behind it all, signaling just how weak he currently was.

Naruto said nothing, simply sitting down at the even metallic floor, his eyes closed, as if thinking. After a few seconds, they snapped open, and the Primordial Evil stared hard at the fox.

"Yes, we finally meet, and it makes me sad to see what you have been reduced to because of man's greed and desperation... Well, it is somewhat wrong to say you have been reduced to a powerless being, seeing as your power is right behind me, but I digress." Sora sat beside Naruto on all four, cocking his head at the weak-looking creation before him. If he had even a simple grasp of positive emotions towards anyone else than his father, then he might have felt pity towards the fox's situation.

"I have some questions for you, and if I find the answers to my liking, we might make a... Deal of sorts. Believe me when I say that the deal will be to your liking, at least compared to your current predicament." He smirked slightly, though there was no malice behind it, simply a humorless realization.

"**A deal you say..."** He looked around the boiler room he resided in, a sneer forming on his face. **"Anything is better than this. Fine, you may ask, but I do not promise that I have all the answers."** The boy nodded, his smirk widening just slightly.

"Good. First question: Are you a demon?" The Kyuubi looked at him like he was a moron, and Naruto somewhat felt like a moron at the question, but he had to make certain about the being he was dealing with.

"**Of course I am not a demon. What kind of stupid question is that?"**

"Are you simply a mass of energy then?" He quirked an eyebrow, the fox pondering his answer.

"**Yes... And no... I am a mass of energy, but I am also not."**

"Then what are you? A mass of energy, no matter how strong can't simply take a physical form and gain a mind of its own. What created you Kyuubi?" The fox looked away from the demon in human form, licking his chops, thinking about how to answer the question without drawing the ire of the one who might help him out of his infernal prison.

"**As you might have heard, over a thousand years ago, this Sage of yours re-discovered Mana. What you do not know, is that he also defeated a mighty Primordial being sent by your ancestral brother, the Lord of Lies. This being was a simple analgalm of energy, just like me and the other beasts. When it was defeated, the energies that held it together dispersed, spreading randomly across the world, becoming focal points of pure, unrefined powed. The world was in disarray after the Lord of Lies little stunt though, so the Celestials had to... How to say this, return the balance so to say."** He licked his chops again, looking away from the young demon.

"**One of the focal points was different to the others simply by the amount of energy that was gathered there. The energy was too strong for the fauna of the area though, so human, animal and plant life withered away. This source is what the Celestials used, what the... Angels, as you call them, manipulated, to create spiritual guardians of this world. Of course, like every being, greed filled us for a moment, and all nine of us tried to siphon as much power from each other before our corporeal bodies were manifested. As you can probably already tell, I am the one who won that little tug'o war between us, seeing as I has the most raw power... At the start, I did not realize just how... Morally ambigous those celestials truly were, and you can see the result of my blind naivity." **He pointed a tail at the floating mass of energy, longing to be connected to it again.

"**That is what I am. I am the unofficial leader of the Celestial Guardians of this world, yet this world has not fallen in disarray despite my sealed state... The one Celestial named Imperius is their official leader, though he is not the most powerful one, nor is he the most influential one either as far as I can tell. Their true ruler you already know about, having a vendetta against him and everything... I can tell you this right now. No matter how pure and holy they might seem, the sins of hell still plague their souls, just like every other creature... Well, except for the Angel of Justice, though his mind is plagued by another curse, though what that is, I do not know... That is all I know."**

The fox closed his eyes, awaiting the judgment that would come from his container, this demonic entity that could have simply killed him and stolen his power. Then again, perhaps total annihilation would have been the best solution. He had lived a long time, he had seen a lot. To be honest, he wouldn't be totally against giving his power to this child of anguish, as he simply did not care if the world burned at his absence.

He heard shuffling, and a moment later, a hand rested softly atop his head, his eyes snapping open, staring at the demon child that sat before him, a frown on the boy's face.

"They used you, didn't they? Lied to you and threw you away the moment your immediate use was gone... They did to you what this village will do to me... I will not let that happen though." He stood up swiftly, moving towards the massive energy orb, Sora walking over to the wall, his hand grasping the chain which was connected to it.

"Kyuubi, tell me. This world, do you think it is worth saving?" He asked, turning his head, staring intently at the thin fox.

"**... In all honesty, I do not know. What I do know, is that a demon-controlled world would be interesting, seeing as that has never happened before. Hell is not a true world, more like a burning prison for the 'wretched' beings of this realm."** Naruto nodded at the answer, once again looking at the gigantic red ball.

"Good answer... Here is my deal. You will be released from my mind under a few stipulations. They are as following: You can never go against me and my subjects. You can stay wherever you want when I leave this village, but until that time comes, you must stay with me, to ensure my safety. Ten percent of your power will stay with me to use as I see fit. At last, I want a favor from you. An unobjectable, non-negotiable favor that you must do in the future. What that is, I do not know yet. Through the help of my lovelies, I will establish a sort of bond with you, so that your state of being is technically still considered sealed within me, negating whatever future sealing techniques used on you as long as I am alive... Cross me, and I will seal you back in my mind before destroying you, taking your powers as my own."

Here he turned around, having slit his palm with the black dagger of his, a bloody mark imprinted in his hand. Kyuubi looked at the out-stretched hand in thought, finding a few flaws within the deal set between them.

"**I have two stipulations of my own. You are not to attack me, and that favor of yours can not end with my imprisonment. Agreed?"** Naruto actually smiled at that, understanding Kyuubi's trepidation of being trapped within a cell.

"That is agreeable. Do we have a deal?"

For just a moment, Kyuubi seemed like he wanted to reject the offer, Naruto saw the slight fear in his eyes. A moment later though, the fox grasped the demon's hand in his own hand-like paw.

"**An unbreakable pact has been made. I truly hope you know the price required if you break the rules."** The fox said, almost laughing as most of his power returned to him, his flesh filling out, giving him a healthy look as he grew so he was just above six feet, leaving only a comparably small, but still quite large orb in its wake. After a slight nod, the chain that binded the fox was broken, and the remains fused with Sora, the matrix of the seal now kept hidden and memorized within the creature of darkness.

"Just so you know," Naruto started, Sora again standing by his side. "You are free to temporarily join my forces when we burn this village to the ground. In fact, you and me might actually be the only ones allowed to kill them... Well, us and Sora here of course, seeing as he is sort of my son, as he is my first, and honestly best creation." Here he patted Sora's head, refraining from quirking an eyebrow at the almost hair-like texture the Shadowling's head had taken.

"**I might just do that... You are looking for your brothers, am I correct?"** At the boy's nod, he continued.** "Well then, I have a good thing, and a bad thing to say to you..."** He stopped again at the pensive look on the boy's face.

"Yes?" The Kyuubi sighed deeply.

"**The good news is, the fragments of your brother Baal is all collected and fused together, meaning that your brother is once again complete... The bad news..."**

"Yes?" The demon said, his teeth grit, his anger rising. If anyone had done anything to harm his brother... Well, they wouldn't live to tell the tale. The fox only sighed, fearing a bit for his safety.

"**The moment it happened, every Celestial being in existance felt it, and... Well..."** He took a deep breath, preparing to scarper at the slightest hint of his impending obliteration.

"**Imperius has his Soul Stone."**


	5. The servants' weakness

**AN: And here is another chapter! Can I just say that I currently worship the Diablo Wiki? So much info on Baal~ I'll use english names for Jutsu. Why? Because I don't wanna look up every single name.**

**Slight warning, extremely minor boyXboy, but I just found that scene fitting for some strange reason. The two interacting are actually not gay though, so do not believe that. Oh, and two terribly written fighting scenes this chapter, so YAY! *Well, one of them is pseudo-fighting, but whatever.* Let's just hope the Doc Manager doesn't annoy me to all end with errors...**

**Why didn't I update before now?... Life... Life is (Enter melodramatic text here.) In other words, I've been busy... And lazy... And I might have been playing Tales of Xillia, Ni No Kuni and some other games... Yeah. WAITING FOR DISGAEA!**

**LET'S START!**

**~Fear~**

He couldn't breathe.

His brother's soul... Was in the hands of the angels? Not just any angel, but their so-called leader to boot?

No, no this couldn't be. They trapped his brothers in the stones to destroy them, to rid the world of them! Why is he in heaven with Imperius?!

"How... Why?" He muttered, barely audible, the fox tilting his head, as if thinking.

"**I do not know. I can only say that they will not siphon his power. Drain it from the Soul stone into a container and destroy it, maybe, but not siphon it."**

**'Their actions does not make much sense though. They created the soulstones to ensure the imprisonment of the three brothers. Why would they suddenly gather the fragments of the middle sibling, especially since he is known as the weakest of the three?'** Was his old age getting to him? What did the humans call it again? Senility?

"**My memory's foggy. Was there anything special about this particular demon, expect for it being one of the three?"**

"I... I don't remember... I think there was a foot-note somewhere that said he traveled to some barbarian-infested mountain after our brothers' death... I-I just don't remember." The fox was unsure if he was supposed to feel happy or frightened by the apparent craving for a family the boy inhabited if the news he gave the boy caused him such distress.

A primordial evil that craves family instead of detesting it... How ironic.

"**Barbarian-infested mountain... Yes, Tyrael did talk about that some times, what was the name again... Mount Arreat I think. Apparently he was slain there due to that blessed pack of ruffians. He was apparently looking for something, something which the angels did not want him to get."** The fox licked his chops, tilting his head to the side.

**'Of course, what I won't mention is that he corrupted a Worldstone, which ended with Tyrael destroying not only the stone, but also the entire region. I think that is what made him lose the chance of being titled the leader of the angels... So, they want Baal because he was in close contact with the stone. Not surprising. He was apparently a genius, able to not only corrupt the stone, but also to draw power from it.'** The fox sat down on his haunches, a thoughtful expression on his face. Naruto though had finally managed to collect himself and was watching the fox in anticipation.

**'I don't understand why Tyrael destroyed the stone. The Celestials clearly had the power to purge the stone of any demonic powers that was forcibly injected into it, I am a clear testament to their powers after all... Why did Tyrael allow him to corrupt a Worldstone? What are you planning, O' angel of justice? Don't say that you are once again trying to-'**

The celestial fox's inner rambling was put on a halt when a painful gasp escaped his former container. He turned his gaze towards the boy where he saw a large wound on the right side of the boy's chest. A moment later, the boy and his minion disappeared.

Naruto barely held in he cry of pain that tried to force its way out of his throat. He was forcefully pulled out of his mind as a sharp pain in his chest erupted. As his vision returned, he stared at the blade of a sword which erupted from the right side of his chest, anger filling him at the impudent being that dared to attack him. A moment later though, hatred erupted from him as he saw the weak, but still noticeable golden glow that seemed to encompass the weapon.

"**Truly, Lord Tyrael must have lost whatever sanity he has left, believing that you are a Primordial Evil."** An outwordly voice said from behind him, the spokesperson definitely male as identified by the deep, but raspy voice that left him. Craning his neck backwards, he stared at the angel, taking in his features.

He was a simple being, his monk-like robes white with thin, golden linings at the rims, his face covered with a simple white, frowning theater mask. His hands and feet bare, except for a single silver ring that sat on the man's right hand, on his middle finger.

What drove the final nail in the coffin though was the soft, golden aura that radiated from the man. If any other person had seen that, they would have believed the aura to be chakra radiating from the man's body, and a soothing feeling might, only might have clouded their minds. Naruto though was not just anybody, and his hate only spiked even more.

"Angel." The Primordial Evil hissed, a single drop of saliva and blood leaving him as he forced himself to stay in control. The holy being simply ignored him while leaning forward, as if to savor the last look of despair that soon would come once he finished this impure being.

"**Oh well, it does not matter. A job is a job."** As he finished that sentence, his masked head was grabbed by the demon's hands, the boy moving far faster than he had expected, and despite the fact that the blade was gouged deeper inside Naruto by the movement, he bit the man's neck through the cloth, injecting his acid within the man, a hoarse, but painfilled scream leaving him as he stumbled backwards and off the rock the two of them was crouching on, the blade still within the boy. A moment later, Sora appeared and tried to remove the blade, but the moment he touched it, his hands was burned, and he let the handle go, an angry hiss leaving him.

"Don't touch it Sora, it's a divine blade." The young demonlord rasped out, coughing out a bit of blood, how he knew that he did not know, nor did he care at the moment. The angel was still screaming, though he seemed to have enough common sense to jump in the water, trying to rid himself of the deadly juices. Forming a hand-sign, a clone formed out of the stone before grasping the blade, carefully pulling it out, grunts leaving him as it slid out of him. Finally, the glowing sword was yanked out of him, an almost relieved sigh leaving him if not for the pain burning through his entire body, Sora entering his body to try and help mend the wound.

The clone inspected the blade, seeming as if it almost considered using it. That did not matter for Naruto though as he slowly stood up, his battle axe appearing in his hands. Sliding down the rock, he slowly staggered over to the wheezing angel, blood dripping from his chest, his wound healing way to slowly for his liking. The angel raised his head, crouching atop the water, a small rasp leaving his voice before silencing. If not for the mask, Naruto would have guessed that he would have seen a scornful sneer of the man's face.

"How does it feel, angel, to be robbed of your birthright? How does it feel that no matter what you do, you will never gain back what you have lost?" He muttered out, dragging the large hunk of iron behind him. A moment later he sprung forward, his axe already in an over-head swing. The man rolled to his side, barely dodging the axe that hit the water.

Naruto simply spun around, swinging his axe again, though somehow the man managed to grab the massive weapon by the edge, though a thin trail of blood left his hands.

"**You do not think" **He rasped out, Naruto's eyes widening in shock, having expected that the man would now be mute. **"That such a simple attack will kill me, do you?"** Nary a moment later he forced the axe to the side, off-setting Naruto slightly as the holy man stepped forward, slamming his still bleeding hands into the boy's chest, the boy being sent backwards almost fifteen feet, though he managed to land atop the water on wobbly feet, the axe still in his grip.

'That man, how can he still talk?' An image of the Necromancer flashed through his mind, a man that could speak even after having his throat and voice-box flayed, and he instantly understood.

'Divine mana... I hate it!'

The angel's mind though was somewhat different.

**'What is this? Tyrael said this boy was nothing more than a freshling, yet he fights better than most demons manage to do after years of massacring each other!'** He stared around him, and suddenly noticed the eerie lights through the trees, the glowing eyes of the shadow minions.

**'I have to get out of here!'**

Sadly though, that was not to be.

With an angry roar the demon speed across the lake, an eerie mist trailing behind him as his demonic energies sky-rocketed, narrowly missing with his swing. Sora took the chance and launched himself from Naruto at the man, spearing the angel through the gut with his long claws. With a blast of his waning holy energies, the holy man pushed Sora away and jumped back from another overhead hack from the axe, only to hit the rock wall that lined the area.

With another roar the boy spun around and used all his strength into the next swing, trying to cut off the angel's head. Alas, he missed, though only barely, smashing the hunk of metal into the stone wall, making the angle stumble slightly from the power behind it.

That was all the demon needed.

Naruto yanked the axe out, only to spin around and smash the broad-side of it into the man's side, the angel flying through the air, skipping along the water. A moment later, the clone Naruto jumped in front of the skipping man, punting the man with his own sword, this time sending him through the waterfall only to crash into the stone wall behind. Right before he could fall, he was impaled through the chest as his own sword was flung at him from the clone, the sword piercing the stone up to the hilt, the angel hanging there, still breathing, albeit barely.

He slowly raised his head as he felt Naruto's presence approaching him. The child was clutching his grievous wound tightly, trying to slow down the blood-flow, his shadow demon riding on the boy's back, doing the exact same thing.

"Ironic, is it not?" Naruto snarled, his eyes glowing a sinister blue glow, the faint mist around his body thickening slightly. "If you simply had went for the kill with your first strike, I would most likely have died, but due to your arrogance and pride, a demonic sin, you was defeated, somewhat easily too despite my injured state." Here he stopped for a moment, hacking up some blood, his face a bit pale, though not as bad as when he was sick.

"Heh... I find it funny really. I have not personally killed anyone before, it was rather my lovelies that did the act. At the time, I was eternally grateful for that... And I still am. How fitting it is for me, the Lord of Anguish, to gain my first real kill through slaying an angel." He grinned maliciously, the acid literally bubbling inside his mouth.

Slowly, Naruto walked up the rocks behind the waterfall, a tiny part of him long buried thanking the old man for teaching him the wall-climbing exercise, positioning himself directly in front of the angel as he crouched down, the wound still bleeding, though not as much. He grabbed the angels head, leaning in closely, peering within the darkness that was his hollow eyes.

"I wonder how it feels to die a slow, agonizing death. Perhaps I shall gain some insight on the matter by using my body's unnatural addition. What do you think Sora?" His Pseudo-son hissed in agreement, both of the evil creatures' eyes glowing in their hatred. Naruto quickly yanked the holy being's head upwards, his own face hanging over it, his grin large, a drop of acid leaving his teeth, hitting the angel who squirmed from the pain.

"May your soul have a merry ride, though if you somehow is manifested back in heaven... Can you give Tyrael a small message from me?" He whispered, shivering slightly.

"**You will not get away with this travesty. Your corpse shall litter the fiery fields in hell, and your soul shall be my personal torturing toy for all eternity."** He snarled, an unholy force entering his voice, shaking the angel to his very core, every morally unjustifiable deed the celeistal had ever done torturing him from within, the pain of the one's he had slain overtaking his body.

How long was he trapped in his mind? He could not tell, yet when he came to, it seemed to be a mere second. Merely a moment later though he felt an outward pain as acid ran down his body, slowly destroying him, though not even a scream left him, his mind having almost shut down by the previous memories.

As the man writhed in pure agony, Naruto lost control of his Chakra for just the tiniest moment, slipping from the rock, falling towards the water. The somewhat forgotten clone managed to catch him though, walking over to the edge of the water.

"Slip me in." Naruto muttered, the clone obeying as he sat Naruto down in the water, close to the edge of the pond. Sora slipped off from his father's back, helping Naruto peel of the blood-soaked garment that clung to his body. Sora hissed slightly, not liking how the wound looked, and it seemed to be closing far slower than what was normal for his master. Is this the power holy weapons has against demons?

Sora did not like it one bit. As he gently tried his best to clean his father's back and wound without inflicting more pain, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the wound in which the now dead angel had inflicted. His master could have died. His father, his creator could have perished, and Sora could have done absolutely nothing to stop it. Once again he was useless to help his master.

He glimpsed his master's face when he turned slightly, and he saw the simmering anger that was barely veiled in his eyes. Not anger at the angel, nor anger at Sora, his failure of a minion, but at himself. His master was angry, he was disappointed... At himself? Why? His master had done nothing wrong! It was his fault that he hadn't managed to sense the invader, it was his fault that his master was hurt! His master was hurt due to his weakness, due to his apparent lack of... Divine sensing...

Slowly, his scrubbing slowed as he looked away from the wound, his pupil-less gaze finding the still embedded blessed broad-sword. The angel was burning a ghastly blue flame, slowly dissipating into ash, and a mere minute later he was gone, the only evidence of his arrival being the sword, and his master's almost fatal wound.

Divine sensing... That sword, it was imbued with holy energies, the power that circulated within the Celestials themselves... If he could absorb that sword, if he could somehow assimilate the pure item...

Without his Master seeing it, he motioned for the clone to come closer, hissing his idea to the clone, just low enough so his Father would not hear. It would be a surprise, he thought. A wonderful surprise when his master saw the corpse of the next angel that tried to assassinate his creator.

The clone nodded, and since Naruto's sense of hearing was impaired due to the bloodloss and the rushing waterfall, he did not hear the sword that was pulled out of the rock behind him, nor did he hear the clone walk over towards Sora.

Sora softly placed his hand on his master's back, partially merging with him. He had to be fast, bringing the blade to his master's mind before his hands was destroyed. As the clone turned the sword and held it by the blade, the hilt towards Sora, the Shadowling stared at the sword before looking at his master, his face still pale, though the wound looked a little better, having stopped bleeding.

He reached for the handle and quickly grabbed it, pain circulating through his semi-inexistant body as the holy weapon tried to purify him. He would not let that happen though. Quickly he entered Naruto's mind, appearing in the throne room where he dropped the blade, hissing painfully as he fell to his knees, his right clawed hand having several white burn-marks on it, quite severe ones too.

He could not let his master see him like this, in such a damaged state. Hissing loudly, a gang of five Shadowlings appeared before him, staring worriedly at his wounds. He quickly shook their stares off as he pointed an undamaged claw at the throne at the top of the stairs, a commanding hiss leaving him.

"_Move it!"_

The five dark imps saluted for just a moment before hurrying up the steps, almost stumbling over each other to follow the orders of their strongest brother. Two of them went on the left side, grabbing the chair while the other three went on the right side. The one's on the right side pushed on the throne with all their strength while the left ones pulled with all their might. Slowly, the extremely comfortable chair moved to the left, and a hole was sighted, leading to an unknown compartment of Naruto's mind.

With another angry hiss, Pyre arose from a shadowed corner, the Necromancer's leather gauntlets in his hands. He quickly scurried over to Sora, handing the protective garment to him, the Shadowling leader quickly putting them on. They were big for his hands, but they would do, he mused as he grabbed the sword, pulling it after him up the stairs and into the small hole, the five imps quickly moving the throne back into position after Sora had entered.

Unknown to his master, though that was mostly due to a slip of mind, there were several hidden, and mostly inaccessible parts and tunnels in his mind which the Shadowlings used to travel around. Then again, was the area a representation of his mind, or his soul? Sora couldn't help but ponder that for a moment before shaking his head, deciding that he would have plenty of time to think about that later.

After sliding down a spiraling tunnel for a few minutes he left the cramped tunnels, sword still in leather-covered hand as he now stood before the large iron doors again, or rather door, as that one door still lied halfway into the large boiler-esque room.

Dragging the sword behind him he entered the now nearly empty room. He considered it nearly empty since the fox of mass destruction still had not left the vicinity of his master's mind, though for once it did not bring any problems towards his lord's precarious health.

Currently, the being in fox form was cleaning his fur, looking over it with a careful eye. After all, he had just gotten back the lustrous color which he slightly prided himself upon having. He glanced towards the grating sound, and he couldn't help but raise a non-existent eye-brow at the larger-than average shadow demon who seemed to drag a divine weapon behind it.

"**If you are here to chase me out,"** he began, stretching before standing on his four legs. **"Then do not worry, as I was just about to take my leave. Though, small tip: If you want to chase away divine or celestial beings, you should probably find another type of weapon."**

"_That is not what I am here for."_ Sora hissed at the powerful entity before him, a being that only smirked back at him.

"**Oh, I know that is not what you are here for. After all, if you were here to drive me off you wouldn't have gone through such a hassle as to bring a potentially deadly weapon against you to me."** He patted towards the much smaller creature, circling around it.

"**A creature of darkness bringing a weapon tempered in the holy flames from the core of Sanctuary... And what is this? Do I sense a tinge of... Sadness within you? Tell me, what are you so sad over?"** Of course, he already knew why, but he wanted the little shadow to realize it himself.

Sora stared at the fox as it sat down in front of him, apparently waiting for an answer.

"_I am here to make a deal."_ He decided to cut right to the chase, he was in no mood for any wordplay right now. The nine-tailed beast's ears perked up, a grin stretching across his face.

"**A deal you say? Alright, I am listening."** At that his left ear twitched. He had always been a lover of deals, especially since he was a master of finding loop-holes.

Here Sora raised the sword in front of him, earning an imaginary raised eyebrow from Kyuubi.

"_I want to be able to absorb and sense divine and celestial energy."_ The shadowling rumbled, his white-blue orbs staring into the raging pits of blood that belonged to a creature much more powerful than his master.

The fox's lips twitched, and a disturbing glint entered his eyes.

"**My my, is the little spawn sad that his master got hurt. Aww, maybe the big bad Kyuubi shall kiss it better."** He laughed hard at the hatred simmering in the smaller beings eyes. It was always so funny angering the fanatical.

Before Sora could respond he was suddenly sprawled on the floor, Kyuubi's muzzle just inches away from his own face.

"**Tell me, what are you willing to give in return? Granting not only immunity to divine and celestial objects, but also absorbing and sensoring abilities of the same category does not come cheap." **He leaned in closer, his nose less than an inch from Sora's face.

"**What are you willing to sacrifice?"**

That was the million ryo question. What could he give in return? He would not dare promise anything that his lord owned, especially not the few shards of the soul stones they had found... But what else was there to give?

He could always offer some Shadowlings to him as slaves, but he had this distinct feeling that he would refuse that, if only out of principle. After all, none of them, not even Sora himself was any match against Kyuubi. They were in fact so inferior that having them as slaves would probably be detremental...

Then again, there was one thing he could offer, and all in all, it would be a fair trade... His father would not be happy though... It would be worth it though, he would gladly suffer any punishment his master gave him if only to receive power to help him in the future.

"_I have one thing to offer."_ He hissed lowly.

Kyuubi raised another imaginary eyebrow at that, but the follow up comment made him grin a grin so terrifying even Diablo himself would have been intimidated.

And he couldn't help but laugh, as this was just to perfect.

Oh yes, the prize was right.

His eyes swiveled around the room for a moment, and a pensive expression found itself on his animal face.

"**It seems like your lord has a guest."** He uttered nonchalantly. **"You should probably go and help your lord just in case."** He hadn't even finished his sentence before the Shadowling leader had teleported away from the area.

He glanced at the sword Sora left behind, and he lifted it up with one of his tails, examining it.

**'I wonder how he'll react when he finds out it's a human this time... Hmm, a human that seems to like the the freshling too, how interesting.'** He peered closer at the blade. **'A class five angel, unimpressive in all ways, but are still able to kill demons that are several years old... The freshling has promise, I will give him that.'** He stabbed the blade in the ground before lying down again, awaiting the spawnling so they could finish the deal.

**'Five years max, and he might even be a threat against class one angels... Hmm, The Lord of Anguish against the Angel of Justice. Truly, that would have been a fight for the ages.'**

**~Fear~**

How could this have happened?

_*"I will be out for a while to gather some ingredients."*_

He had only been away for an hour, to gather some herbs to drain the weak, but still potentially dangerous poison that had entered his master's veins.

_*"You are too over-protective, did you know that?"_

"_You are always saying that."*_

He had not been far away, barely a five minute walk for a civilian. He had simply been in a clearing finding the ingredients needed to make a cure, even took a bit extra to stock up on supplies. He had even found a cute, little rabbit, deciding to keep it. Who knows, maybe it could be useful some day?

_*"My, what a cute little thing you are... I think I will name you Mr. Hoppkins."*_

He had not heard anything, nor had he felt any chakra sources, except for his master of course, nearby, so he had taken his time, knowing that his master would be fine for at least today, if not even tomorrow, despite the venom flowing through his body. No, of course his master would have been fine, he was an exceptionally powerful man after all.

_*"Living with my master may not be the easiest life, but he is precious to me... I wonder if you have ever had someone precious to you."*_

It was first when he had began his trek back towards his master's hiding spot that worry had started to fill him. It was silent. Way to silent. Even the little rabbit with him had started to act unnaturally still, its head only slightly moving back and forth, though its eyes seemed to move much more rapidly, as if looking for a way to escape.

_*"... It is so silent... Wait... Master! I can't feel him!"*_

Then he had smelled it. Blood. He had no time to dilly-dally back here, he had to return to his master, now! So he had created several ice mirrors, moving between them at a far accelerated pace, though even with his fastest technique did he arrive to late.

_*"No... Nononononononono... NO!"*_

There had been no sign of struggle. No sign of a massive battle he had somehow overlooked, nor was there any residue fog around the area. It was an incredibly simple kill, head gone from his body. If not for the victim, he would have almost congratulated the person who did this by the apparent clean kill. It was not hard to identify his master, the man's massive cleaver and muscular, grey-ish body easily telling him that his master was... Was...

He had failed.

"LORD ZABUZA!" He sobbed on his hands and knees, staring at the man that had taken him in, his mind and soul shattering at the sight. He had failed. He was a failed tool, a failure of a minion. He was a discarded weapon, simply because of his own incompetence. He should not have left his master, he simply should not!

_*"Ya know, if I did not know any better, I would think that you used the herb-gathering as an excuse to be left alone."_

"_You have nothing to worry about. It brings me no greater pleasure than to be close to you."_

"_You know, if it was anyone else that said what you just said, that would have sounded creepy."*_

He had felt it for several days, the eyes that followed them, yet every time he scoured the area, nothing was found, even Lord Zabuza himself returning emptyhanded the few times he had searched the surrounding area.

_*"I think this life is getting to us, seeing as we are feeling something that does not exist."_

"_Perhaps, but no matter what, I will always follow you, even if our paths leads us to the deepest madness."_

"_Heh, you know what? That doesn't sound so bad, being crazy with you."_

Who could have done this? His master was the second most powerful of the hidden mists swordsmen brigade, and the undisputed master of silent killing, not even Kisame or Mangetsu having been able to locate him his master had said. He was as close to a Kage's level of power without actually being one as possible, and even if he was slightly weakened, he would still have destroyed any elite Jounin.

_*"Did I ever tell you that I was a candidate for the Mizukage seat?"_

"_Of course master, several times in fact, but I never tire of your words."_

"_... I can't tell if you are mocking me or not."_

"_I will never mock you Master, and the day we meet Yagura is the day he will perish. You will then have your rightful place in this world."_

"_Heh, unless Mei takes the seat first. Damn woman always taking everything I set my eyes upon."*_

In a way, it was ironically fitting. The ultimate assassin killed by an unseen enemy

That is when the shadows moved.

"Was this man precious to you?"

Senbons made of ice flew towards the voice, apparently missing the target as the sound of piercing flesh wasn't heard.

"You..." The feminine boy whispered, a dark aura surrounding her. "You took him away from me... I will end you." Slowly but surely, he put on his mask, and nary a moment later he ran after the shadowed visage of the apparent killer.

He could barely glimpse the assailant, as the person's entire body was covered in a black cloak, though the probably male, if the voice was anything to go by, seemed to almost fly through the trees with an unnatural grace.

That did not matter for Haku though as he flew through some hand-signs.

"Ice release: A thousand needles of death." He whispered. After a moment the mist-like area they currently resided in condensed into hundreds upon hundreds of needles, and nary a moment later they shot forwards with almost demonic fervor, narrowly missing and sometimes grazing the feeling assassin. A few of them hit though, and the escapee stumbled, falling to the ground.

He caught himself though and began running, his speed barely dampened after the damage taken. For a moment, he seemed to look over his shoulders at the ice-user before throwing his head back with an almost insane laughter.

"I killed Zabuza~" He sung out loud, once again narrowly dodging several ice needles. "Are you trying to kill me?" He screamed back at his pursuer before crashing into an instantly materializing ice mirror, getting kicked in the gut a moment later as Haku left his mirror, creating a dome around them.

"Ice release: Frostbite blade." The masked herbalist muttered, a dagger made out of ice appearing in her right hand. He stared into the hood, and couldn't help but be shocked at the age of his master's murderer.

He was younger than himself.

He saw the almost white-haired boy's lower lip tremble just the slightest, and Haku couldn't help but be reminded of himself when he killed his father. The boy saw the hesitation in his eyes and slowly stood up, staring warily at the masked teen.

"You can't do it, can you?" He asked, though it sounded more like a statement. "Not even when confronting your master's murderer can you muster the will to shatter your own heart." He said, his words filled with a false sweetness that did not fit the boy's look. The boy slowly walked towards the false bounty-hunter, each step more deliberate than the last one.

"I wonder what he would say to you now if he saw your hesitance. What he would think about his so-called tool who can't even harden his own will enough to take one measly life." He almost seemed to glide around the older teen, the long-haired boy transfixed by the boy's mere presence.

"You could have easily finished me there. A slit throat, pierced heart, a needle through my head, turned me into a frozen statue... The possibilities are endless." His voice became softer as he shifted closer to the older teen.

"I do have to admit, I find your hesitation almost cute, such desperation to keep whatever innocence you have left." His hot breath sent shivers down Haku's spine, though if they were good or not was unknown to the boy. He shuddered slightly when Naruto leaned over his shoulder, sending a small flick of his tongue at his ear.

"But in the end, you are too pure to simply kill me... Then again, I know how to change that." At the edge of his vision, through the mask he saw the boy grin, and it honestly terrified the ice-wielding ninja.

"What would you say about a deal." He whispered into Haku's ear, the older male almost shaking, an unearthly fear filling him.

"If you kill me, I will bring him back." He grinned a malicious grin as the masked teen's head snapped towards him, his breathing having seemed to stop.

"I-Impossible." Haku whispered, his voice trembling for just a moment. The albino only smiled wider, his grin almost demonically wide.

"Impossible? Nothing is impossible my dear, sweet boy." He slowly swirled around Haku, now standing in front of the brown eyed boy.

"I have a... unique ability I guess we can call it, that let's me harvest the essence of those I kill. That way, I can bring them back, though only if I were to... Well, die." He took a hold of the icy blade and held it up to his chest, right over his heart.

"It would be very simple, wouldn't you say? You just have to push it in me, a mere few inches in fact for you to pierce my heart." Haku could swear he saw a demon overlap the boy's form.

'W-Who, or what is this person?'

"What do you say, a life for a life? Are you willing to sacrifice what is left of your humanity to see him again?" Haku could only stare at the blue eyes, such piercingly chilling eyes that transfixed him.

Until something snapped.

How dare this person mock him with such foolish words!

With a sneer Haku pushed the blade clean through the boy's chest, all the way up to the hilt, a small gasp leaving the be-whiskered face of his adversary. For a moment the world seemed to stop before a wheezing chuckle left the dying boy. Slowly he raised his hands, taking a hold of the teen's head and somehow slipping off the mask the self-declared tool wore. Blue eyes meet brown, and the ones who resembled sapphires couldn't help but drink in the tearful visage before him.

"You truly do not believe that it would be this easy, do you?" He wheezed out, grinning at the miserable face that Haku wore. "Oh no, the real me is somewhere else entirely... I have to say though, it was fun being hunted by you, girly boy." He ended with a wink before leaning forward and peeking the other boy's lips, a shocked expression slowly forming on Haku's face.

"By the way," He rasped out as he slowly vanished. "Next time you meet me, you should probably have a few helpers. You know, just in case." His form continued to fade as wisps of light left him.

"Just remember the name Naruto Uzumaki my dear." And with a last coy smirk he seemed to disappear, small tufts of light appearing and dispersing at the spot where the boy was moment ago.

After a minute the mirrors and sword vanished, and Haku collapsed on the forest ground. He touched his lips with a hand, shock still floating through his head.

After another minute he finally stood up and placed the mask back on which the white-haired boy had taken off. He glanced back for just a moment before wandering off, having found a new purpose in life.

'If it was not for the fact that he killed Master Zabuza, I might have taken him up on the offer.' He mused, unconsciously licking his lips.

As he left, a large man seemed to materialize, and he couldn't help but stare at the scene in both sadness and satisfaction.

**'Perhaps now things will be set right.'** He mused before looking to the direction where the dead man was lying.

**'I think I will fulfill that deal if he succeeds.'** And with that he vanished in a golden light, disappearing as if he was never there to begin with.

******~Fear~**

**Edit:** Do I seriously have to explain why I added that small NarutoxHaku scene? Fine... As you might have noticed, that 'Naruto' were not the real one, rather an illusion or clone created by the being at the end of this Chapter. That being has never actually met the real Naruto, merely seen him in passing at most, so he has no idea what the boy's personality really is, so he created a clone/illusion With some basic Succubus/Incubus-esque characteristics. (Slightly seductive, manipulative, violent.)

In other words, this is, most likely, going to be the only BoyxBoy/yaoi part of my entire story. If that little scene really grossed some of you out that much, then too bad for you, since I'm not going to change that scene. I really like it, since it shows what that mystical being is willing to do to defeat Naruto. Plus, The normal Naruto personality in this story would not fit With turning Haku against him in the future anyway, so the being that created the clone would not have used his volatile personality anyway.


End file.
